What Is Day of the Dead? History, Dates, and Traditions
Explore Day of the Dead, or Día de Muertos: its history, November dates, ofrendas, sugar skulls, and traditions honoring loved ones.
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10/19/20268 min read
An ofrenda creates a place for remembrance through photographs, offerings, and objects connected with loved ones.
What Is Day of the Dead? History, Dates, and Traditions
A photograph. A favorite meal. Flowers arranged beside a candle.
The most recognizable images of Day of the Dead might be decorated skulls and elegantly dressed skeletons, but its heart is more personal: remembering people who mattered.
Day of the Dead—called Día de Muertos or Día de los Muertos in Spanish—is a Mexican observance honoring deceased loved ones, commonly associated with November 1 and 2. In many communities, offerings and gatherings welcome the souls of loved ones believed to return for a temporary visit. americanhistory.si.edu
Its history brings together Indigenous traditions, Catholic observances, and centuries of cultural change. Its customs differ between regions, communities, and families.
There is plenty to discover—and no single altar, calendar, or skeleton can tell the whole story.
How do people observe Day of the Dead?
Common practices include preparing offerings, decorating graves, sharing food, and gathering to remember deceased relatives and friends. What people do depends on their family and community traditions.
The Smithsonian’s account of remembrance on Day of the Dead describes families sharing stories around an ofrenda and gathering in cemeteries to feel close to loved ones who have died. National Museum of American History
At home, photographs and meaningful possessions can become part of an offering. Flowers, candles, food, and water also appear in many arrangements, as Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History explains. inah.gob.mx
These practices give remembrance a physical form: something to prepare, a place to gather, and an opportunity to tell someone’s story again.
What does Día de Muertos mean in English?
Día de Muertos means “Day of the Dead.” Día de los Muertos is another widely used name for the observance. Both forms appear in cultural and educational resources. UNAM Cuba
A few related terms help explain what visitors might encounter:
Ofrenda: An offering. The word also commonly refers to the arrangement prepared for deceased loved ones.
Altar de muertos: An altar for the dead.
Difuntos: Deceased people.
Calavera: A skull. A calaverita de azúcar is a little sugar skull.
Pan de muerto: “Bread of the dead,” associated with the observance.
Papel picado: Decorative cut paper used among the colorful elements of many offerings. americanhistory.si.edu
These words describe different parts of the tradition. They become more meaningful when understood alongside the people and practices behind them.
When is Day of the Dead celebrated?
November 1 and 2 are the principal dates commonly associated with Day of the Dead. Preparations and observances can begin earlier, and local calendars vary.
The Catholic calendar helps explain the timing:
November 1: Día de Todos los Santos, or All Saints’ Day.
November 2: Día de los Fieles Difuntos, or All Souls’ Day.
These observances became part of the historical development of Mexican commemorations for the dead, as discussed in UNAM’s historical overview. UNAM Cuba
A familiar explanation associates November 1 with deceased children and November 2 with deceased adults. Mexican government material describes this pattern, but it should not be applied to every community. www.gob.mx
For example, Yucatán’s official account of Hanal Pixán identifies October 31 with deceased children, November 1 with deceased adults, and November 2 with a Mass for all souls. Yucatán.Travel
The calendar makes more sense when we also ask which community’s traditions we are discussing.
What is the history of Day of the Dead?
Day of the Dead developed in Mexico through interactions among Indigenous traditions, Catholic observances introduced during Spanish colonization, and later cultural changes. Its modern forms do not have one simple origin or exact age.
Before Spanish colonization, peoples across what is now Mexico had diverse funerary customs, ceremonies involving the dead, and understandings of the afterlife. Catholic practices brought additional traditions of prayer, offerings, and commemoration.
Historians Roberto Martínez González and Rocío Maza, writing in an account republished by UNAM, describe centuries of interaction and transformation rather than one unchanged ceremony. UNAM Cuba
Researchers differ over the origins of particular customs. An historical essay published by INAH argues that many familiar elements popularly assumed to be pre-Hispanic have substantial European Catholic antecedents. www.inah.gob.mx
Describing the whole celebration simply as “an ancient Aztec festival” therefore leaves out much of its history. Indigenous roots matter deeply, alongside colonial and modern developments.
A living tradition can carry history while continuing to change.
What is an ofrenda, or altar de muertos?
An ofrenda is an offering prepared for the deceased. The word also commonly refers to an arrangement or altar containing photographs, foods, drinks, candles, flowers, and meaningful possessions.
According to INAH’s explanation of offerings, common elements include:
Photographs identifying the people being honored.
Food and water welcoming the visiting souls after their journey.
Candles guiding them toward the offering.
Cempasúchil flowers marking a path.
Incense and copal associated with cleansing and protection.
Papel picado adding color and representing wind. inah.gob.mx
These explanations describe beliefs and symbolism within the tradition. Arrangements vary, including their number of levels. Mexican government educational material describes examples with two, three, and seven levels; seven is not a universal requirement. www.gob.mx
A favorite dish or personal possession can carry a significance that a general checklist cannot explain. The person being remembered helps give the offering its meaning.
Photographs and favorite foods can make an ofrenda personal to the people it remembers.
Why are marigolds associated with Day of the Dead?
Cempasúchil flowers—marigolds strongly associated with the observance—are used in offerings and decorations. Their color and fragrance are believed to help guide the returning dead.
The Smithsonian describes marigolds as a beacon drawing ancestors toward an ofrenda. Their role extends beyond their striking appearance: preparing a welcoming place can include preparing a way to find it. www.americanhistory.si.edu
The season also has agricultural significance. UNESCO notes that the Indigenous festivities coincide with completion of the annual maize cultivation cycle. Remembrance and the seasonal life of a community can be closely connected.
What are calaveras and calaveritas?
Calaveras are skulls. Calaveritas de azúcar are small sugar skulls associated with Day of the Dead, while calaveritas literarias are humorous poems involving death.
Sugar skulls appear among the offerings described by INAH. They are one part of a wider visual tradition involving skulls and skeletons. inah.gob.mx
Literary calaveritas take a different form. UNAM’s Institute of Geology describes them as short, witty poems in which a friend or other character encounters death. UNAM
Humor has a place alongside affection and remembrance. A funny memory still belongs to someone who is missed.
Calaveritas de azúcar are small sugar skulls associated with Day of the Dead offerings.
Who is La Catrina?
La Catrina is an elegant skeletal figure whose familiar image developed from José Guadalupe Posada’s Calavera Garbancera and Diego Rivera’s later portrayal. Her documented history belongs to modern Mexican art.
Posada’s earlier image carried social criticism. Rivera subsequently depicted the figure with a full body in his 1947 mural, Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central—“Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central.”
Mexico’s national fine arts institute explains that Rivera’s treatment honored Posada. Today, La Catrina is widely associated with Mexican culture and Day of the Dead. Artes Visuales
Her elegant appearance can make her seem timeless, but she should not be described as an ancient Aztec goddess.
An original illustration of La Catrina, whose familiar image developed through the work of José Guadalupe Posada and Diego Rivera.
What is pan de muerto?
Pan de muerto means “bread of the dead.” It refers to breads associated with the observance whose shapes, flavors, and meanings vary by region.
The recognizable round loaf with bone-like decorations is one familiar form. Ciencia UNAM explains that the buttery, orange-flavored version commonly pictured reflects central Mexican traditions.
Elsewhere, breads can take human or animal shapes and carry local meanings. There is considerable variety behind a name that might suggest a single recipe.
Its origins are also more complicated than one dramatic story. The bread known today evolved over time, and researchers discuss different explanations of its antecedents. Ciencia UNAM
This familiar round loaf is one regional form of pan de muerto.
Is Day of the Dead celebrated the same way throughout Mexico?
No. Calendars, foods, ceremonies, and interpretations differ between regions and communities. Local traditions are essential to understanding the observance.
In the Yucatán Peninsula, Hanal Pixán is commonly translated as “food for the souls.” The name comes from Maya, rather than Spanish. Yucatán’s account describes offerings including mukbil pollo, a large tamal traditionally cooked underground. Yucatán.Travel
In the Huasteca, celebrations associated with Xantolo include masked dancers and regional musical traditions. INAH documents the performances known as la viejada as part of these observances. www.inah.gob.mx
In Mixquic, in Mexico City, INPI describes families gathering in the cemetery on the night of November 2 for the candlelit observance known as the alumbrada. www.gob.mx
These are distinct traditions, each shaped by the people who practice it.
Day of the Dead at the cemetery in San Andrés Mixquic, Mexico City, November 2, 2009. Photo: Thelmadatter, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped for this page.
Is Day of the Dead the same as Halloween?
No. Day of the Dead and Halloween are distinct observances, although their dates are close together and contemporary celebrations can overlap.
The Smithsonian cautions that sweets, costumes, and skeletal imagery can lead visitors to mistake Day of the Dead for an extension of Halloween. www.americanhistory.si.edu
Day of the Dead centers on remembering and honoring deceased loved ones. Its relationship with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day is part of its history. americanhistory.si.edu
Understanding that purpose helps the photographs, food, flowers, and cemetery gatherings make sense. Their significance comes from the relationships they express.
How has Day of the Dead changed in modern times?
Art, migration, public celebrations, and mass media have helped shape contemporary observances. New expressions have developed alongside household and community practices.
Writing for the Smithsonian, folklorist Norma Cantú identifies Chicanx artists in East Los Angeles and San Francisco as important participants in developing alternative public expressions during the 1970s.
A more recent example is Mexico City’s large institutional parade, introduced in 2016. Contemporary reporting in La Jornada records the city’s head of government explaining that the idea came from the parade depicted in the James Bond film Spectre.
That history concerns one particular event. The film did not invent Day of the Dead or all processions associated with it.
Its public imagery continues to develop, while family and community practices remain important parts of its story.
What is the meaning of Day of the Dead?
Day of the Dead creates time and space to remember deceased loved ones through offerings, stories, food, and gatherings. Smithsonian accounts describe families sharing memories around ofrendas and visiting cemeteries to feel close to those who have died. americanhistory.si.edu
Learning about the observance means paying attention to both the recognizable symbols and the people whose traditions give them meaning.
The flowers are beautiful. The skeletons are memorable. But a photograph beside a candle tells us something equally important.
Someone is being remembered.
Sources and further reading
A Little Tradition. A Little Discovery.
Explore our Day of the Dead tees, discover the stories behind the traditions, or wander into something entirely different. There’s plenty more to discover at The Wolf & the Butterfly.
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