Cross and gravesite decorated for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, All Souls’ Day… Several years ago I had the fortune to be in central Mexico right before Días de los Muertos, which is celebrated on November 1 (All Saints’ Day), when the souls of children are honored and November 2 (All Souls’ Day), when the adults are remembered.  Although I missed the actual celebration days that year, I did see a lot of preparations before the event:  cleaning of gravesites, the purchase of bright orange marigolds (or cempasúchil) and sugar skulls, ofrendas, or altars dedicated to the dead.  It is an amazing sight and a wonderful way to view a different perspective on death.

Día de los Muertos is a beautiful holiday in Mexico when the living welcome the dead back home for a visit, enticing them with favorite possessions, food and beverages, flowers and candy.  Instead of a scary or somber day, it’s a time of celebration, picnics on gravesites, music, dancing, and remembering and honoring relatives.

It’s also a day to mock the very idea of death and laugh in its face, as demonstrated by the calacas, which are tableaus of little skeleton figures going about daily life.  These little calacas are a great pieces of Mexican folk art, which, along with papel picado (decorative paper cut-outs), now decorate my office, including one skeleton that holds a camera!

Honoring the dead in this way dates back to the Aztecs and was only incorporated into All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day when the Catholic church realized these ancient traditions could not be suppressed.  The Mexican attitude about death stems from the belief that souls continue to exist after death and rest in Mictlan, or land of the dead, until the annual day when they can return home to visit their loved ones.  Life in ancient Mexican cultures was so difficult and uncertain that death was not only expected, but welcomed as life’s reward.  Modern Mexicans still see death as a normal transition of life, not an ending.

I find it fascinating that in Mexican culture death is not something to be feared, but that is actually part of the cycle of life and Los Días de los Muertos help to bring closure to the relatives of the deceased.  And, what a wonderful way to honor and remember loved ones!

“To the resident of New York, Paris or London, the word Death is never pronounced because it burns the lips.  Mexicans, on the other hand, frequent it, caress it, they sleep with it, they celebrate it; it is one of their favorite games and their most permanent love.” — Octavio Paz

View more Mexico images.

Calaca decoration for Day of the Dead

Decoration for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) outside a restaurant in Guanajuato, Mexico.

Candelas (candles) and papel picado for sale for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Marigolds for sale in the market prior to Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Marigold petals are sprinkled on a grave for Día de los Muertos, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Ofrendas or offering table for deceased relatives during Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

A boy walks through the cemetery on his way to clean a gravesite prior to Día de los Muertos, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

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I am a freelance Food and Travel photographer, based in the foothills outside of Denver, Colorado. This blog is a way to share my passion for anything related to food, travel, and creativity. I hope you enjoy the images and musings, and feel free to comment and subscribe with the links below. Thanks for visiting!