Skeletons, candles, and festive decorations are some traditions that Día De Los Muertos and Halloween share. However, they are not the same holiday.

Día De Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday from Nov. 1 to Nov. 2.  While it may be close to Halloween, the reasoning behind the holiday is very different. Día De Los Muertos is meant to commemorate loved ones who have passed away and celebrate them through various offerings. Traditionally, delicious food and colorful decorations would be put up to show continued love for ancestors and friends. The border is said to be thinner between the spirit world and the real world, and for many Mexican people, the holiday can be an important day to think of passed away loved ones as well as celebrate and throw parties. People dress in elaborate skeleton costumes, and cities in Mexico throw lavish parades to commemorate the day. It is as much a celebration of death as it is of life—in particular, the lives which are now gone and those who live on to remember them. 

The holiday originates from the Aztecs, Toltec, and Nahua people who did not mourn deaths but believed those who passed away were still a part of the community. The living instead preserved their memories of the dead until they had the chance to visit the Earth on Día De Los Muertos. A centerpiece of the holiday is the ofrenda, or altar, which is decorated with offerings like food, decorations, candles, and golden marigolds. The calvera, or skull, is a symbol used to celebrate the holiday with sugar skulls adorning houses. The altars are also decorated with papel picado which are colorful pieces of paper crafted into images.

On the other hand, Halloween finds its roots in pagan ritual days which were combined with Christian and Catholic holidays when those faiths took power.  This intermixing has created the myths we know today. In America, the holiday is celebrated by wearing costumes and by children trick-or-treating. They go door to door asking for candy, and the day is associated with horror and spooky imagery. In modern times, both holidays are lauded in the United States, but there can be some downsides to this notoriety. 

“You see it so popularized in mainstream pop culture, the commercialization and commoditization of it—there’s some danger in that,” said Melissa Carillo, Director of New Media and Technology at the Smithsonian Latino Center, to National Public Radio. 

For Carillo, the danger of the rising prominence of Día De Los Muertos in the U.S. is that it has started to divorce the holiday from the culture that actually created it. Although both holidays can bring joy to the participants for Día De Los Muertos, it is important to be conscious of the culture and meaning behind it and extend respect. 

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