What is Día de Los Muertos?
A celebration of our ancestors
Day of the Dead (Día de Los Muertos) is a two-day holiday on November 1st and 2nd that reunites the living and dead.
It started thousands of years ago with the Aztec, Toltec, and other peoples of Mesoamerica. For these ancient cultures, mourning the dead was believed to be disrespectful because death was a natural part of the life cycle. So rather than mourn their dead, the memory and spirits of the dead were kept alive through various memorial days, religious rituals, and celebrations.
To acknowledge this holiday, families create ofrendas (offerings) on an altar to honor their family members who have died. Home altars are decorated with marigolds; favorite dishes such as tamales, tortillas, pumpkin and mole; candles; incense; toys and other enticements; and objects of personal use. In some instances, a path of flower petals directs the souls to their home altars.
The offerings are believed to encourage visits from the ancestors as they hear their family praying to them, smell their favorite foods and want to join in the celebration!
Why do people paint their faces?
Today people paint their faces as incredibly beautiful skulls to celebrate the Day of the Dead. The skull face paint represents their ancestors who have died and celebrates the beauty and necessity of death. La Catrina is the name used by the women of Mexico when they paint their faces to resemble skulls.
Today, Día de los Muertos is celebrated in Mexico, some other countries in Latin America and in cities such as Los Angeles where there is a large Mexican community.