If Dia de Los Muertos is not Mexican Halloween, what is Day of the Dead, really?
While Dia de los Muertos falls almost concurrently with Halloween, and the celebrations surrounding both events includes sweets, spirits and skeletons, that is where the similarity ends. Until recently, there was no dressing in costumes and asking for sweets in Mexico (this is a recent “immigrated” custom, and only occurs in some parts of Mexico). Dia de los Mauertos is neither scary, nor somber. The spirits are not ghostly phantoms but rather those of the deceased, who are thought to return to visit their families on these special days. November 1 is Dia de los Inocentes (“Day of the Innocents”) or Dia de los Angelitos (“Day of the Little Angels”), reserved for sprirts of children who have passed and November 2 is Dia de los Muertos or Dia de los Defunctos (“Day of the Dead”), a day to spend with the spirits of deceased adults. Almost everyone goes to the pantheon (cemetery) and in some areas of Mexico, even spend “all night beside the graves of their relatives. It is also common to p
