Mexico’s Day of the Dead

Día de los Muertos celebrations bring parading skeletons and decorated cemeteries to cities from Oaxaca to other cities in Mexico such as Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, and Merida.

Marigold-strewn altars to deceased loved ones, revelers dressed as skeletons, and colorful parades make Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) a big spectacle in Mexico and U.S. border states. The somber-meets-celebratory holiday November 1 and 2 honors the dead with a fusion of Catholic and pre-Columbian and Spanish traditions. It sees locals decorating family graves at cemeteries and travelers joining public celebrations in Mexico.

The elements of Day of the Dead are uniquely Mexican, but the idea of honoring your ancestors is universal. The Day of the Dead becomes tourism attractions. Hotels get in on the festivities, erecting ofrendas and serving traditional dishes such as pan de muerto (bread of the dead) at their restaurants. 

Multiple parade fills Mexico’s with thousands of costumed marchers.

(Image Courtessy by taferresidenceclub.com).