Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a holiday that honors deceased loved ones through traditions, including memorial altars, specialty foods, cemetery visits, and more. It takes place on Nov. 1 and 2 and is primarily celebrated in Mexico, where 91% of the population participates in Day of the Dead festivities, generating more than $2B in tourism revenue in 2023. Many other Latin American countries and places with large Mexican populations also observe the holiday.
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The ancient people believed the dead journeyed to Mictlán, the Land of the Dead. To get there, they had to travel for four years through nine underworld levels, with the final being occupied by Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of death, and his wife Mictecacíhuatl.
Some elements from ancient festivals honoring Mictecacihuatl and other deities, like incense, skeleton imagery and marigolds, have been incorporated into modern Day of the Dead celebrations, possibly indicating that the holiday blends indigenous and Catholic traditions.
Beginning in the 1970s, Mexican-American artists have used Day of the Dead components like ofrendas and festivals to combine cultural identity with social justice movements, highlighting indigenous traditions to address issues like gang violence.
The Day of the Dead blends various traditions, including Aztec myth, Mexican heritage and Chicano identity. That makes for a complex and evolving holiday. This conversation between Cynthia Vidaurri, a Smithsonian folklorist, and Lalo Alcaraz, a cultural consultant for “Coco,” analyzes how the varied influences have created the modern holiday.
The holidays share a calendar date and both honor lost loved ones. However, All Souls’ Day is intended to help guide souls in purgatory to heaven, while Day of the Dead celebrates the temporary return of loved ones’ spirits to Earth.
As American Halloween becomes more popular across the globe, Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations have begun to take on some of its traditions. While some believe this dilutes the holiday, other scholars suggest that Day of the Dead has always been rooted in Catholicism.
However, it’s becoming increasingly common to celebrate the two holidays simultaneously. Hollywood films have made Halloween more popular in Mexico and Day of the Dead more popular outside the country. As a result, events like Mexico City’s annual parade now include elements of both holidays.
The opening scenes of the 2015 film “Spectre” take place during a Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City. The movie generated so much interest that local authorities turned what was once fiction into an annual tradition, drawing thousands.
The holiday figures prominently in the 2017 Disney film, which inspired an uptick in Day of the Dead merchandise being carried by national chains like Target and Michaels, sold alongside Halloween merchandise.
In a tradition that has lasted over 3,000 years, Guatemalans launch giant kites into the air on the eve of Day of the Dead. The colorful kites honor the dead and carry messages of hope, love and peace to the world.
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