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A Tradition that Refuses to Die

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When the Spanish Conquistadores arrived in the land known now as México, they were shocked to discover natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death.

The Aztecs and many other pre-Hispanic civilizations collected skulls as trophies and used them during the ritual. These skulls symbolized death and rebirth. Unlike the Spaniards who viewed death as the end of life, the natives considered it as a continuation of life.

To the natives, life was a dream and only in death they would become awake.

The ritual had been practiced for over 3000 until the Spaniards decided to impose their Christian beliefs and try to eradicate it. But like the old Aztec spirits, the ritual refused to die the Spanish way and continues to live.

Today the Day of the Dead is celebrated in México and in certain parts of Central America and the United States.

People in rural México pay tribute every year by spending the night in the cemetery where their loved ones are buried. They decorate the graves with Flores de Muerto (marigold flowerers), toys for the children, and bottles of mezcal for the adults.

In Mexico's larger cities, families build altars dedicated to the dead. They surround the altars with food, skulls made of sugar, candles, sugar cane, pictures of the deceased, and candles.