Mexico · November 2, 2026

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

November 1 and 2 — Mexican families welcome their dead home for a night, with food and marigolds.

What happened

Families build an ofrenda — an altar of photographs, candles, salt, water, marigolds and the food the person loved. The scent of the marigolds is said to guide them. The first of November is generally for children who have died, the second for adults. It draws on both Indigenous Mexican practice and the Catholic feasts of All Saints and All Souls, and UNESCO lists it as intangible cultural heritage.

Why it stuck

It is not a spooky holiday and it is not Halloween. It is a warm one: the dead are talked to, fed, and laughed about. For a child who has lost someone, it is one of the gentlest traditions in the world.

What a family can do

Put out a photograph and the food that person loved. Say their name. That is the whole thing.

Questions to work through

1. An ofrenda has water, salt, candles and marigolds. Find out what each one is for.
2. Compare Day of the Dead with Halloween. Write two differences that matter.
3. Draw an ofrenda for somebody in your family, with the food they liked best.