El D\u00eda de Muertos<\/span> is Mexico’s festival for remembering family and friends who have died. It takes place mainly on 1 and 2 November, when, according to tradition, the souls of the dead come back to visit the living. Families set up an altar at home, decorate graves and share food, music and stories.<\/p>\n\n It is neither sad nor scary: death is treated as part of life, and the dead as guests to be welcomed home. In 2008, UNESCO inscribed the Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.<\/p>\n\n Both D\u00eda de Muertos<\/span> and D\u00eda de los Muertos<\/span> are correct. In Mexico the shorter form is the usual one; the longer form is common in the United States and in many textbooks.<\/p>\n\n The two days are not statutory public holidays in Mexico, but the festival is observed nationwide, with especially rich traditions in states such as Michoac\u00e1n and Oaxaca.<\/p>\n\n Before the Spanish conquest, the peoples of Mesoamerica, including the Mexica (Aztecs), honoured their dead with rituals and offerings; the Mexica spoke of Mictl\u00e1n<\/span>, the land of the dead. The Spanish brought the Catholic feasts of All Saints and All Souls. Over the centuries the two merged, differently in each region.<\/p>\n\n Be wary of neat stories about a single ancient origin: historians still debate how much is pre-Hispanic, colonial or modern. Some famous images are recent: La Catrina dates from the twentieth century, and Mexico City’s big parade was first held in 2016, after a similar scene in the James Bond film Spectre.<\/p>\n\n The ofrenda<\/span> (offering) is an altar set up at home, and also in schools and public squares, for people who have died. It usually includes:<\/p>\n\n Many altars have several tiers, with meanings that vary by region. The souls are believed to take in the essence of the food; the family eats it afterwards.<\/p>\n\n Families clean and decorate graves, and in many places spend the night of 1 to 2 November there. Well-known vigils take place in Mixquic, in Mexico City, and on the island of Janitzio, on Lake P\u00e1tzcuaro in Michoac\u00e1n. In Mexico a cemetery is often called el pante\u00f3n<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n Calavera<\/span> means skull. It also names the calaveras literarias<\/span>: humorous rhyming verses imagining a living person, often a politician or a friend, as dead. Newspapers publish them and Mexican pupils write them at school. In some places children go from door to door asking \u00bfMe da mi calaverita?<\/span> for a few coins or sweets.<\/p>\n\n A sweet, round bread, often flavoured with orange blossom, topped with dough bones and dusted with sugar; shapes vary by region. It is often eaten with hot chocolate.<\/p>\n\n The elegant female skeleton in a wide, feathered hat began as La Calavera Garbancera<\/span>, a satirical print by the engraver Jos\u00e9 Guadalupe Posada, made shortly before his death in 1913. It mocked Mexicans who hid their Indigenous roots behind European fashions. Diego Rivera gave her a full body, a feather boa and the name Catrina in his 1947 mural Sue\u00f1o de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central<\/span>. A catr\u00edn<\/span> is a dandy; a catrina<\/span>, a well-dressed lady.<\/p>\n\n The skulls are not there to frighten: Halloween plays with fear, the Day of the Dead welcomes loved ones home. The two now meet, as Halloween spreads in Mexico and Catrina masks fill Halloween shops, which is why it matters to keep them apart in class.<\/p>\n\n In Spain, 1 November is Todos los Santos<\/span>, a national holiday: families visit cemeteries, eat bu\u00f1uelos<\/span> and huesos de santo<\/span>, and theatres traditionally stage Don Juan Tenorio<\/span>. Spain does not traditionally celebrate the Day of the Dead.<\/p>\n\n Other countries have their own customs around these dates: giant kites (barriletes gigantes<\/span>) and the dish fiambre<\/span> in Guatemala; colada morada<\/span> and bread dolls (guaguas de pan<\/span>) in Ecuador; bread figures (t’antawawas<\/span>) in Bolivia and Peru. Don’t present Mexican customs as “what Latin America does”.<\/p>\n\n Pronunciation: cempas\u00fachil<\/span>, from Nahuatl, is stressed on the \u00fa: “sem-pa-SOO-cheel” (with a th for the c in most of Spain). In muertos<\/span>, ue is one syllable: “MWEHR-tos”. Alma<\/span> is feminine but takes el<\/span> in the singular, like el agua<\/span>: el alma<\/span>, las almas<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n El 2 de noviembre las familias visitan el pante\u00f3n.<\/span>On 2 November families visit the cemetery.<\/small><\/p>\n\n En la ofrenda ponemos fotos, velas y flores de cempas\u00fachil.<\/span>On the altar we put photos, candles and marigolds.<\/small><\/p>\n\n A short routine for 1 or 2 November:<\/p>\n\n For a longer project, label a class ofrenda in Spanish or write a gentle calavera literaria about a fictional character.<\/p>\n\n At KS2, marigolds, candles and papel picado are plenty. At KS3, the imperfect finds a natural home in describing the people remembered. At GCSE, the festival feeds cultural comparison.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ofrenda, cempas\u00fachil, calaveras, La Catrina: Mexico’s Day of the Dead explained accurately, with vocabulary and respectful lesson ideas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":21,"template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Day of the Dead: Traditions and Vocabulary | VocaDial","_seopress_titles_desc":"Day of the Dead explained for Spanish teachers: dates, origins, ofrenda, calaveras, pan de muerto, La Catrina, how it differs from Halloween, class ideas.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_vd_topic":"muertos","_vd_target":"es","_vd_module":"","_vd_level":"A1\u2013B1","_vd_minutes":"9","_vd_card_word":"calavera\u2026","_vd_answer":"The Day of the Dead (D\u00eda de Muertos<\/span>) is a Mexican festival held mainly on 1 and 2 November, when families remember relatives and friends who have died and, according to tradition, welcome their souls back for a visit. They build an ofrenda<\/span> (home altar) with photos, candles, marigolds (cempas\u00fachil<\/span>), sugar skulls and pan de muerto<\/span>, and decorate graves. It is a warm, festive act of remembrance, not a Mexican version of Halloween.","_vd_faq":"[{\"q\":\"When is the Day of the Dead?\",\"a\":\"Mainly on 1 and 2 November. In many regions 1 November is for children who have died and 2 November for adults; some communities begin their preparations in late October.\"},{\"q\":\"Is the Day of the Dead the same as Halloween?\",\"a\":\"No. Halloween (31 October) plays with fear, ghosts and monsters. The Day of the Dead is a Mexican family celebration that welcomes the souls of loved ones home with an altar, flowers and food.\"},{\"q\":\"What is an ofrenda?\",\"a\":\"A home altar dedicated to people who have died, with their photos, candles, marigolds, papel picado, water, pan de muerto, sugar skulls and the food and objects they loved.\"},{\"q\":\"Who is La Catrina?\",\"a\":\"An elegant female skeleton that began as Jos\u00e9 Guadalupe Posada's satirical print La Calavera Garbancera, in the early twentieth century. Diego Rivera named her Catrina and gave her a full body in a 1947 mural.\"},{\"q\":\"Is it D\u00eda de Muertos or D\u00eda de los Muertos?\",\"a\":\"Both are correct. Mexicans usually say D\u00eda de Muertos<\\\/span>; D\u00eda de los Muertos<\\\/span> is common in the United States and in textbooks.\"},{\"q\":\"Is the Day of the Dead celebrated in Spain?\",\"a\":\"Not traditionally. In Spain, 1 November is Todos los Santos<\\\/span> (All Saints' Day), a national holiday when families visit cemeteries.\"}]","_vd_key":"muertos-es","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-90","vd_ressource","type-vd_ressource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/90","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vd_ressource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/90\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The dates<\/h3>\n\n
Origins: two traditions woven together<\/h2>\n\n
The traditions, one by one<\/h2>\n\n
The ofrenda<\/h3>\n\n
At the cemetery<\/h3>\n\n
Calaveras<\/h3>\n\n
Pan de muerto<\/h3>\n\n
La Catrina<\/h3>\n\n
Day of the Dead, Halloween and All Saints<\/h2>\n\n
<\/th> D\u00eda de Muertos<\/th> Halloween<\/th> Todos los Santos (Spain)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Date<\/td> 1 and 2 November<\/td> 31 October<\/td> 1 November<\/td><\/tr> Where<\/td> Mexico above all<\/td> Ireland, the UK, the US and beyond<\/td> Spain and other Catholic countries<\/td><\/tr> Roots<\/td> Mesoamerican and Catholic<\/td> Samhain and All Hallows’ Eve<\/td> the Catholic calendar<\/td><\/tr> Mood<\/td> warm, festive family remembrance<\/td> playing with fear<\/td> quiet remembrance<\/td><\/tr> Symbols<\/td> ofrenda, marigolds, skulls, La Catrina<\/td> pumpkins, ghosts, witches<\/td> flowers on graves, cemetery visits<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n Beyond Mexico<\/h3>\n\n
Day of the Dead vocabulary<\/h2>\n\n
Spanish<\/th> English<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> el D\u00eda de Muertos<\/td> the Day of the Dead<\/td><\/tr> los muertos, los difuntos<\/td> the dead, the departed<\/td><\/tr> la ofrenda<\/td> the offering, the home altar<\/td><\/tr> la calavera<\/td> the skull<\/td><\/tr> el esqueleto<\/td> the skeleton<\/td><\/tr> la calavera de az\u00facar<\/td> the sugar skull<\/td><\/tr> el pan de muerto<\/td> “bread of the dead”<\/td><\/tr> la flor de cempas\u00fachil<\/td> the Mexican marigold<\/td><\/tr> el papel picado<\/td> cut tissue paper<\/td><\/tr> la vela<\/td> the candle<\/td><\/tr> el alma, las almas<\/td> the soul, the souls<\/td><\/tr> el pante\u00f3n, el cementerio<\/td> the cemetery<\/td><\/tr> la tumba<\/td> the grave<\/td><\/tr> recordar<\/td> to remember<\/td><\/tr> honrar<\/td> to honour<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n
In class: teaching the Day of the Dead respectfully<\/h2>\n\n
Adapting to your class<\/h3>\n\n