Origins and History of Día de Muertos

Día de Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a vibrant celebration that traces its roots back thousands of years to the Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica, particularly the Aztecs, Toltecs, Olmecs, and Maya. These civilizations held a cyclical understanding of life and death, viewing death not as an end but as a continuation of existence in another realm. They believed that the spirits of the deceased remained connected to the living and could return periodically to share in the earthly world.

Among the Aztecs, it was commonly believed that after death, a person’s soul embarked on a long journey through Chicunamictlán, the Land of the Dead, before reaching its final resting place in Mictlan, the underworld realm governed by Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacíhuatl, the lord and lady of the dead. This journey was thought to take several years, and families played an active role in helping their loved ones complete it. They left offerings of food, water, tools, and personal objects to nourish and guide the spirits, gestures of love meant to ease their travels and remind them that they were not forgotten.

When Spanish colonizers arrived in the 16th century, they introduced Roman Catholic observances such as All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (November 1 and 2, respectively) and a new calendar system. Indigenous communities adapted these frameworks to their existing beliefs and rituals of remembrance. While the Spanish calendar provided new dates and symbols, the core conviction that death is a continuation of life remained deeply rooted in Indigenous belief. This syncretic tradition honors both Christian and pre-Hispanic understandings of life and death, reflecting broader patterns of cultural exchange during colonization. Today, Día de Muertos embodies this blending of beliefs and stands as a testament to the resilience of Indigenous traditions.

Customs and Observances

Modern observances of Día de Muertos vary widely across Mexico and among communities worldwide. In Mexico, families visit cemeteries to decorate the graves of loved ones, adorning them with candles, marigolds (cempasúchiles), and the favorite foods of the deceased, hoping to encourage their spirits to return for a joyful reunion. One of the most beloved customs is the building of ofrendas (“offerings”), a type of altar arranged in family homes or beside the graves of departed relatives. At these sites, families come together to eat, share stories, and lovingly care for the resting places of their ancestors.

In urban areas, people take to the streets for festive celebrations, indulging in food and alcohol. Some wear wooden skull masks known as calacas, and the festivities are often characterized by black humor and the presence of La Calavera Catrina, a lively skeleton wearing a large plumed hat originally created by José Guadalupe Posada. Catrina has become a national symbol of modern Mexico, often featured on altars to the deceased, with some individuals painting their faces and wearing elaborate costumes to emulate the calavera.

Ofrendas

Many families build altars, called ofrendas, in their homes, using photos, candles, flowers, incense, salt, and food. The ofrendas are usually set up by October 31 and taken down after the holiday on November 2, although specific local or family traditions vary. The style, shape, and ornamentation of ofrendas are largely up to individual celebrants, but many traditions are typical. An ofrenda may have a single level or multiple levels and is typically covered by a cloth.

Each ofrenda typically incorporates offerings that represent the four elements of nature: fire, in the candles that light the spirits’ path; water, for purification; earth, symbolized by food prepared to nourish them; and wind, reflected in the delicate paper banners known as papeles picados, which have intricate cut-out patterns believed to allow the soul of the deceased to pass through. The brightly colored orange and yellow cempasúchiles (marigolds) are among the most recognizable features of the altars, as their color and scent are believed to help guide spirits back to the world of the living.

Although ofrendas are generally moderately sized and located in private homes, they may also be set up in public, sometimes in grand fashion, in cities across Mexico. Such public ofrendas are often dedicated to important historical and cultural figures or serve as memorials for national tragedies, such as the 2017 earthquake near Mexico City.

Food

Ofrendas often feature sweets offered to the dearly departed, as it is thought that the deceased get hungry on their journey back to the world of the living. Especially popular are sugar cookies in the shape of skulls (calaveras), sometimes inscribed with the name of a deceased person, and ornately decorated sugar skulls molded from sugar paste. Other foods on an ofrenda may include corn (maize), fruit, chocolate, and a special bread called pan de muerto, marked with a cross. Calabaza en tacha, a candied pumpkin with numerous regional variations, symbolizes the sweet bounty of life in many places.

The living also enjoy these and other foods. Pan de muerto and sugar skulls are often accompanied by hot chocolate. Tamales, pozole (a pork and hominy stew), and mole—a rich sauce often characterized by chilies and cocoa—are common. In the Yucatán Peninsula, where the Day of the Dead is celebrated as Hanal Pixán, mukbil pollo (or píib) is a traditional Maya dish made with masa harina (fine-ground corn treated with slaked lime), filled with chicken and pork, wrapped in banana leaves, and baked underground.

Fiambre—a cold salad of meats, cheeses, and vegetables—is a common dish served in parts of Guatemala during the Day of the Dead. It is often eaten with family at home or at the cemetery, with some set out for the dead. Recipes are passed down through generations and can feature 30 or more ingredients from which the deceased can pick their favorites. Preparing fiambre often involves family gatherings, during which people are assigned different tasks, such as cutting or pickling the vegetables or grilling the meats, creating a labor of love and community.

Gatherings and Commemorations

In many places that observe the Day of the Dead, the deceased are remembered with visits to the cemetery. Loved ones may use the holiday as a time to clean tombs and grave sites, often adding decorations and offerings, with burial structures commonly repainted in bright colors. Memories of the departed, along with prayers, are shared during these visits. Particularly in small towns and villages, families may lay flower petals, candles, and offerings along the paths leading from the cemetery to their home to help guide the souls to the ofrenda inside.

Given that All Saints’ Day is generally a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics, the Day of the Dead is often incorporated into the masses celebrated that day. Some churches encourage families to bring photos of their loved ones, and prayers are offered to and on behalf of the dead. Special requiem masses are sometimes held on November 1 and November 2 (All Souls’ Day). Processional walks are common, and some people undertake a nightly novenario—a spiritual devotion of reciting a set form of prayer for nine consecutive days—culminating on the Day of the Dead.

Regional Traditions

Oaxaca, Mexico

The southern Mexican state of Oaxaca is renowned for hosting some of the most elaborate and deeply rooted observances of Día de Muertos. The region’s large Indigenous population, including Zapotec and Mixtec communities, has preserved many precolonial elements of the holiday while blending them with Roman Catholic influences introduced during the colonial period. In Oaxaca, the Day of the Dead is not merely a commemoration but a time of reunion between generations, marked by art, music, and communal devotion.

A distinctive feature of the Oaxacan celebration is the creation of tapetes de arena, carpets made of sand often crafted in homes, churches, streets, and public squares. These carpets usually depict religious symbols, skulls, or portraits of the departed, blending Roman Catholic imagery with Indigenous motifs. Both ofrendas and tapetes de arena are often made collaboratively by families and neighbors, embodying the communal spirit that defines the holiday in Oaxaca.

Mexico City, Mexico

One of the most popular celebrations for tourists in Mexico is the Gran Desfile de Día de Muertos (“Great Day of the Dead Parade”) in Mexico City, a relatively recent addition to the country’s Day of the Dead festivities. Introduced in 2016 as part of broader initiatives to promote tourism in the Mexican capital, the parade was inspired by the opening sequence of the James Bond film Spectre (2015), which portrayed a fictional Day of the Dead procession through the city’s historic center.

Although such a parade had not existed previously, the film’s international exposure provided an opportunity to showcase Mexican artistry and tradition, leading to the organization of a real version the following year. Featuring elaborate costumes, floats, and artistic performances that blend traditional imagery with contemporary spectacle, the event attracts more than a million spectators annually. Critics, however, argue that the parade reflects international or tourist perceptions of Mexican culture more than it does traditional Day of the Dead customs.

Santiago Sacatepéquez and Sumpango, Guatemala

The Festival de Barriletes Gigantes (“Giant Kite Festival”) is held each year on November 1 for the Day of the Dead in the Guatemalan towns of Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez. Made primarily of colored tissue paper meticulously pasted onto bamboo frames, the massive, circular or hexagonal kites can span more than 72 feet (22 meters) in diameter and incorporate ancestral and Indigenous symbolism, religious motifs, and contemporary social themes.

Many of the largest kites are displayed upright as messages to the spirits of the dead and to keep evil spirits at bay, while smaller, eight-sided barriletes are launched into the sky to carry prayers and remembrances. The event is one of the largest festivals in Guatemala, attracting tens of thousands of spectators annually. The tradition of crafting and flying enormous kites in these Kaqchikel Maya communities dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. Months in advance of the festival, artisans, families, and community groups begin the elaborate construction process, which involves careful design, layering, and assembly.

In recognition of its cultural significance, the technique of making the giant kites in Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez was inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024.

The United States

In 2017, Disney and Pixar released the animated film Coco, which tells the story of a Mexican boy who embarks on a journey through the Land of the Dead to uncover his family’s long-kept secret. The film won Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, introducing many Day of the Dead traditions and beliefs to a wide audience and helping to popularize and raise awareness of the holiday.

Because large portions of the present-day United States were once Mexican territory, certain Day of the Dead observances may be regarded as locally continuous and native to those regions rather than later cultural imports. Additionally, Mexican and Latin American immigrants throughout the United States carried their Day of the Dead traditions with them, privately celebrating with their families. Despite this long history, the holiday was not publicly observed among Mexican Americans and other Latinos until the Chicano movement of the 1970s and ’80s. Seeking Mexican American empowerment, artists and activists promoted the holiday and its Indigenous roots as part of a larger social and cultural movement, encouraging their communities to celebrate their traditions and beliefs more boldly.

In the 21st century, Day of the Dead festivities have become important cultural events in many places in the United States, particularly in cities with large Mexican American and Hispanic populations, including San Antonio and Austin, Texas; Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, California; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Chicago, Illinois; and New York City. These cities now host large-scale Day of the Dead parades and exhibitions, often organized in collaboration with Mexican and Mexican American artists and cultural institutions. While some traditions have persisted in their historical forms, elements of the Day of the Dead, such as sugar skull imagery, marigolds, and Catrina face paint, have increasingly appeared in festivals and commercial design outside the holiday, often blending with Halloween.

Despite this growing global visibility, many Mexican scholars and community leaders emphasize the importance of preserving the holiday’s spiritual and familial significance, cautioning against its reduction to a decorative or commercial event and against cultural appropriation by those who have not traditionally observed the holiday.