Day of the Dead

1.

Day of the Dead
(Dia De Los Muertos)

2.

The Dia De Los Muertos festival takes place annually
on November 1-2 in Mexico.
According to the belief, these days the souls
of deceased relatives visit their homes.
The tradition dates back to the Mayans and
Aztecs, who brought gifts to the goddess
Mictlancihuatl and built walls with skulls tsompantli.

3.

Carnival food includes:
• Pan de Muerto, otherwise known as "Bread of
the Dead."
• Calaveras de azúcar, literally "sugar skulls."
• Tamales, a traditional Mexican dish made of
corn dough filled with meat, beans, cheese, chili
and other ingredients, wrapped in corn or
banana leaves and steamed.
Dulces, or sweets, play an important role in the Dia
de Muertos celebration.

4.

Traditions associated with the
holiday include:
• Creating private altars in honor of the
deceased that include sugar skulls,
velvets, and the deceased's favorite
foods and beverages.
• Visiting the grave with these gifts.
• Carnival.
• Preparing sweets in the form of skulls
and figures of clothed female skeletons
reminiscent of Katrina.
• Decorating cemeteries with ribbons and
flowers.
• Lighting candles on the roads to the
homes of the dead so that the deceased
can find their way home.