Day of the Dead: A History of a Celebration of Life

What is Dia de los Muertos?

• The air is perfumed with copal and the cemeteries glow with candles as processionals of skeletons and paper mache skulls sway through the streets of Mexico. It is Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, an amalgamation of an ancient Mesoamerican holiday and the Catholic All Saints’ Day. On November 1 and 2, Mexicans, expats, those with Mexican heritage, and an increasing number of non-Latinxs celebrate the lives of those lost with ofrendas (altars) adorned with marigolds, sugar skulls, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed. 
• As Mexican poet Octavio Paz wrote:

“Our death illuminates our life.”

Dos Dias

• The celebrations begin on midnight of November 1st with Dia de los Angelitos, a celebration for departed children. The next day, adults who have passed are also celebrated and honored on Dia de los Difuntos. This day is typically referred to as simply Dia de los Muertos, when the spirits and lives of all the dead are celebrated.
• It is common for cemeteries to fill up with families visiting the resting place of their relatives. Graves are cleaned and flowers and edible offerings are left as a gesture of undying love. 

Origins of Dia de los Muertos

• Aztecs had an entire month (present-day August) dedicated to the deceased that paid homage to Mictlancíhuatl, the Goddes of Death, who also presided over the festivities. These Mesoamerican peoples believed Mictlancíhuatl protected the departed and helped usher them into the afterlife. 
• The Aztecs took a cyclical view of the universe and conceived of death as an integral stage in life, rather than an ending. Mourning is transformed into a celebration, a festive reimagining of traditional perceptions of death. 
• When the Spanish conquered the Aztec empire in the 16th Century, the colonizers attempted to replace these indigenous practices by moving them to coincide with the Catholic observances of All Saints’ Eve (Halloween), All Souls’ Day, and All Saints’ Day.
• Indigenous Mexicans did not renounce their pre-Hispanic heritage. Instead, they combined the solemn three-day ceremony of Hallowtide with a joyful celebration of death illuminating life.

Dia de los Muertos today—and tomorrow 

• During the festival, families create altars decorated with cempazúchitl (marigolds), sugar skulls, copal incense, and photos and belongings that were meaningful to the deceased relatives. 
• The ofrendas are thought to entice the dead back for a visit and also include the deceased's favorite foods along with pan de muerto, Bread of the Dead.
• Yellow marigolds, also known as flor de muerto, are believed to be a special flower that leads the soul of the dead to its ofrenda because of its vivid color and enticing fragrance. More broadly, these flowers represent both the complex beauty and temporality of life.  
• Participants often paint their faces to resemble calaveras (skeletons). Sugar and clay calaveras are a common sight on the days and weeks leading up to the celebration, and are incorporated into the ofrendas or left as gifts at the gravestone. Many homes also include papel picado, tissue-paper folk art with cut-out designs. 
• Dia de los Muertos has evolved from its Mesoamerican roots and continues to evolve today, incorporating new customs, traditions, and political movements. During the 1970s Chicano Movement, altars incorporated rarely-discussed Mexican heritage. In the 1980s, Dia de los Muertos altars were constructed for those who died of AIDS. Recently, ofrendas have appeared at the sites of mass shootings in America. 

Yes, death is coming for all of us. But not yet. So let’s celebrate. Feliz Dia de los Muertos.

-Emma Kansiz & Josh Herman