The observance of Day of the Dead in Mexico and New Mexico goes back to pre-Hispanic Mexico to the Aztecs, Mayans and other indigenous peoples in Mexico. They believed that the souls of the deceased return annually to visit living relatives and eat and drink with them. These cultures all celebrated the return of the dearly departed with festivals and celebration.
Day of the Dead celebrations keep the tradition that loved ones don’t ever truly die. They come back. Although not specifically about this holiday, Carlos Fuentes' essay "Dias enmascarados" does address shared Mexican and Spanish cultural preoccupations with both death and the past. Or as Faulkner (so admired by Fuentes) famously stated, the past is not dead; in fact it's not even past.
Media Credit: Gabbi Campos / Daily Lobo
Flo Bargar marches in a Dia de los Muertos parade in the South Valley on Sunday. Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated in memory of loved ones who have died.
New Orleans jazz funeral
The concept is global. In old New Orleans, European, African, and native customs of the dead were also mixed. “Touissaint,” French for All Saints Day, is the only remaining American celebration of the old European Day of the Dead. Immortelles (elaborate mourning wreaths), candle burning, and dining with the dead are still held in New Orleans cemeteries on this day. A history of frequent disease and death prompted celebration and festivity. Funerals accompanied by revelry evolved into customs such as “The Jazz Funeral” (complete with brass band and invariably playing When the Saints go Marching In), “Death Watch,” lively Wakes — similar to the Irish Wake - and the Zombi.
New Orleans jazz funeral
It's not just Europe and Meso-America either. The Ghost Festival (aka Hungry Ghost Festival, honors and feeds the departed) celebrated in China, Japan and other Asian countries bears more than a passing resemblance to Dia de los Muertos and other festivals - including food.
Thai Hungry Ghost Festival
Dia de los Muertos: Activities, Art & Folk Art Links
- San Antonio TX Day of the Dead page
- Day of the Dead Folk Art
- Build your own Day of the Dead altar game
- Hecate: Calaveras
- Day of the Dead ~ Mexican Folk Art ~ Merchandise ~ Sugar Skull Molds
- Deaders (DoD art) at Fausto's Art Gallery
- Latino Pop Art & Day of the Dead Art
- DoD folk art at Viva Oaxaca Folk Art Store
- Day of the Dead Crafts and Activities from Enchanted Learning
- (illustrated article about DoD, Mexican DoD traditions and folk art) The Dead Come to Life in Mexican Folk Art
- Mexico's Days of the Dead Page from NM Connect - many, many images and links
- Arizona DoD page
- Burke Museum's 2006 "A Celebration of Souls," a traveling exhibit exploring the history and significance of Day of the Dead celebrations in Oaxaca, a southern region of Mexico. A Celebration of Souls: Day of the Dead in Southern Mexico, shows 29 stunning photographs capturing a typical Oaxacan Day of the Dead holiday. (Seattle WA)
- Day of The Dead /Dia de Muertos at the International Museum of Folk Art, Santa Fe: Symbolism of the Ofrendas; Día de Muertos Vocabulary; Bibliography
Here in Costa Rica, we also have the Day of the Dead. In our area of the country, the day is celebrated with visits to the cemetaries. During these visits the tomb is washed and/or painted, and flowers are placed on the tomb.
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