'See death in a different way': The history of Day of the Dead and how to celebrate this year

The opportunity to reunite with a deceased loved one might be closer than you think. 

Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos is an annual tradition that has been honored by Indigenous civilizations in Mexico for more than three millennia to celebrate the life of those who have passed. 

Elements of Catholicism and Christianity were later incorporated into the Indigenous death ritual after the colonization of the Aztec empire by the Spanish in the 16th century, for a holiday shaped by the ideas, beliefs and motifs of the Spanish, Christian and Indigenous civilizations, USA Today previously reported. 

Tradition tells us that in late October the souls of our loved ones are making their way back to come and celebrate with us, Angie Jimenez, Director of the Altar Program at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles shared with USA Today. 

Families, friends, or admirers of the deceased prepare altars, or ofrendas to welcome the person, people, or even pets they are honoring on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, which coincides directly with Catholic holidays All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day. 

Despite the origins of the holiday being rooted in Mexico, the tradition of honoring a loved one who has since passed has been embraced by people from all walks of life. 

“I feel like this Mexican tradition gives people the opportunity to see death in a different way,” Jimenez said. 

Here are some facts about the larger-than-life celebration, traditions, as well as some ideas of what to include in your own ofrenda.

When is Day of the Dead 'Día de los Muertos' celebrated?

Day of the Dead festivities can begin as early as Halloween night but are most frequently observed Nov. 1 and Nov. 2, depending on the age of the deceased person you are celebrating. 

You can celebrate a loved one or loved ones on either day, but children are typically celebrated on Nov. 1 while adults are celebrated on Nov. 2. 

The separate remembrances not only acknowledge the different stages of life but provide a specific focus for each day, reflecting a blend of indigenous Aztec beliefs and Catholic traditions, according to The Arizona Republic, part of the USA Today Network. 

Nov. 1 is commonly referred to as the Day of the Innocent “Día de los Inocentes” or Day of the Little Angels “Día de los Angelitos,” where loved ones celebrate the lives of young children or young people. Nov. 2 is known as Day of the Dead “Día de los Muertos” or Day of the Deceased “Día de los Difuntos” where loved ones commemorate the lives of adults who have passed. 

The construction of an altar or a gravesite decoration session can occur even earlier, depending on the region. 

"I would say that most people, you could really say, celebrate it for a week or multiple weeks. Because many people don't make the ofrenda on Nov. 1, they don't make it on Oct. 31, they don't make it on Nov. 2. They make it weeks in advance of the actual holiday,” Mathew Sandoval, a professor at Arizona State University researching Día de los Muertos, shared with The Republic. 

Mexico City, for example, celebrates Day of the Dead throughout the month of October, allowing people to add or change up their altars over the course of the month.  

Though the holiday is largely observed by people in Mexico and Mexican American or Latino communities in the United States, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, and even Haiti celebrate Day of the Dead in their own way, according to The Mexican Museum in association with the Smithsonian Institution.

Where is Day of the Dead celebrated? 

Day of the Dead can really be celebrated anywhere an altar has been made, Jimenez shared. Ofrendas have been built in homes, parks, grocery stores and gravesites. 

Families or friends use the days to gather with one another to construct an altar, visit the graves of loved ones, use paint to create a skull-like figure on their face, dress up, make sugar skulls, swap stories, share food, enjoy music or dance, purchase marigolds and attend a parade or festival. 

Who does Day of the Dead honor? 

Anyone you want to remember. 

That includes family members, friends, or even pets. 

More:Sugar skulls, painted faces, and paper flowers: A visual guide to Día De Los Muertos 2023

Day of the Dead facts

If you're thinking about partaking in this year’s Day of the Dead celebration, here are five facts you may find useful, courtesy of The Smithsonian Institution.

1. Day of the Dead and Halloween aren’t related. Nor can the holiday known for commemorating the life of loved ones who have since passed be considered a “Mexican Halloween” despite the similar themes present in each holiday.
2. The tradition of honoring the dead can take place over more than a couple of days. Over the last 3,000 years, Indigenous civilizations from Mexico and northern Central America like the  Olmecs and subsequent Toltecs, Mixtecs, Zapotecs, Maya, and Aztec people designated specific times to recognize their family, friends, or neighbors that passed on.  Any number of months could be dedicated to remember a person who had recently departed, depending on whether they were a child or an adult.
3. You can’t celebrate death without celebrating life. Life, like all journeys, must come to an end eventually. Death is as much a part of the journey as life is, according to beliefs held by Mesoamerican civilizations.  Just like agriculture, crops can grow again on the bed of the crops that have already bloomed. New life can come from death.
4. A make-shift altar, or ofrenda is an integral component of the Day of the Dead celebration. Loved ones of the deceased will assemble a display at home or at a gravesite decorated with personal effects like jewelry or photographs as well as provisions in the form of food or beverage that the person may have enjoyed while they were alive to nourish them during their visit.
   • Displays can vary based on a number of factors like regional traditions, family and individual wealth, recent deaths, or the year’s harvest. 
   • At least four of the items included in the ofrenda will have a tie to one of the four elements. Usually, water is left in a pitcher so the spirit or spirits can quench their thirst. Food like sweet breads or the person’s favorite meal or snack represents earth. The wind is represented by papel picado, colorful tissue paper cut into intricate shapes, and fire is symbolized by candles that are usually lit in the form of a cross to represent the cardinal directions, so a spirit doesn’t lose its way.
5. Typical Day of the Dead symbols include flowers, butterflies and skulls.
   • Family or members usually decorate the altar or grave with Marigolds, or the Cempasúchil flower. The flower, known for its vibrant yellow or orange color and scent is used to carve a path for spirits from the cemetery to the home of their families. 
   • Monarch butterflies have been said to hold the spirits of those who have departed. Day of the Dead happens to coincide with the time period Monarch butterflies arrive in Mexico for the winter.
   • Sugar skulls also known as calaveritas de azúcar represent those who will be receiving offerings. The sugar symbolizes the sweetness of life.

What’s a Day of the Dead ofrenda?

An ofrenda, or altar is created with the attention of providing a physical space for the spirit of the family member, friend, or pet you want to be reunited with again. 

As stated, most altars incorporate yellow marigolds, candles, photos of the deceased, papel picado or cut tissue-paper designs, as well as food and beverage offerings for the dead, according to The Mexican Museum in association with the Smithsonian Institution.

Skulls or calaveras are commonly used decorations. They be made of papier-mâché, clay, wood, metal, cut-out tissue paper, and often, they are made of sugar decorated with colored icing, flowers, or metallic colored foils.

The components integrated into the altar will vary depending on the culture, region, preference. 

Since the altar is the “heart and soul” of what Día de los Muertos is all about, it's important to include traditional elements like candles, papel picado, a beverage, or food, Jimenez shared.  All of these items represent the four elements of nature. 

As long as you have the traditional components, the location of the altar and its size don’t matter, Jimenez said. 

The altar should also be unique to the person whose soul you are interested in reconnecting with, so adding a few personal touches like their favorite snacks, toys, or belongings can’t hurt. 

Here are a few things you might want to include in yours: 

• Candles 
• Photos/personal belongings
• Cempasúchil (Marigolds) 
• Papel picado
• Salt
• Food/drinks
• Incense
• Religious symbols like crosses 
• Music

More:Day of the Dead 2023: See photos of biggest Día de Los Muertos celebration in the US

How has Day of the Dead evolved?

Traditions, like anything else, are subject to changes or modifications as time marches on. 

Day of the Dead has gone through transitions of how it's celebrated and honored since the time of the Aztec people, but one key element has stayed the same. 

The living have a chance to visit with the recently departed for two days out of the year in a joyous and rather colorful celebration of life. 

One of the most unique aspects of Dia de los Muertos is the ambiguity of how it evolved to what it is today, Ramona Pérez, anthropology professor and director of the Center for Latin American Studies at San Diego State University, previously shared with USA Today. 

Colorful altars, dressing in traditional Mexican formal wear,  sugar skull face painting or masks are some of the most distinguishable displays of reverence for the Día de los Muertos traditions.

Opting into these optional practices is a way to pay homage to the cultural significance of the holiday. 

One of the most iconic Day of the Dead symbols, La Calavera Catrina, an elegant skull, was created by Satirical cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada in 1910. The illustration depicted a skeleton dressed in fashionable attire to mock the upper class of that time. 

Over the last century, La Catrina has been embraced as a symbol of Mexican culture and has come to represent the idea that death is an inherent part of life and should be celebrated, according to reporting by The Republic.

It has become common to see people wearing La Catrina-inspired costumes or paint their faces to resemble the skeletal features of La Catrina, rocking elaborate dresses, suits, flower crowns, shawls or hats to form a complete look.

“If it wasn’t for José Guadalupe, I think people would just be wearing Mexican traditional skirts, but Catrina and Catrina have just become synonymous with Día de Muertos celebration …  They’re just a reminder of our own mortality. We are all going to the same space. Although it might sound very dark or morbid, it's a statement on how death is just as beautiful as life. It's going to happen; you just have to look at it in a different and more light-hearted manner. Once you’re gone, you might potentially be celebrated in this way," Jimenez shared.