Day of the Dead, also known as 'Dia de los Muertos' is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd and is one of Mexico's most important holidays of all times. Many around the world commemorate the holiday and follow the Mexican tradition which has existed for thousands of years now, long before Spanish settlers arrived. The holiday honors and remembers deceased loved ones by creating altars to honor and remember them, but not any altar. Marigolds are protagonist flowers, and Day of the Dead 2024 will be no different, hosting these as the main symbolism to honor the loved ones of thousands.
Day of the Dead 2024 - Learn About the History, the Symbolism of Marigolds on This Day and Traditions
Every year, before November 1st, Mexican families gather to decorate their altars with photographs, sugar skulls, food, candles, and marigolds, otherwise known in Mexico as 'cempasúchil' flowers, being one of the most important attributes that symbolize the deep meaning of this day. Day of the Dead 2024 will in fact continue to be a 2-day celebration where it is believed that the passageway between the real world and the spirit world is open so our deceased loved ones can come back to visit us.
.jpg "Catrina with marigolds for Day of the Dead")
Photo: @lacatrinaandante
So what do people traditionally do when their grandparents come back from the land of the dead? They make them their favorite meal and offer them their favorite drink along with placing their favorite marigolds, singing, dancing, and rejoicing before they head back to the underworld for another year. But what's in there for the history of this celebration and what is the deep meaning of marigolds for Day of the Dead?
Photo: @muerteadasoaxaca
Day of the Dead History Dates Back To Aztec Times
The origins of the Day of the Dead, which is celebrated in modern Mexico and among people of Mexican descent in the United States and around the world, can be traced back 3,000 years to pre-Columbian Mesoamerican rituals honoring the dead. The Aztecs and other Nahua people who lived in what is now central Mexico held a cyclical view of the universe and saw death as an inevitable part of life. Want to know more? Keep reading to learn the fascinating story behind this celebration.
Photo: @crossroadshotelkc
In Nahua beliefs, the journey of a deceased soul was a long and arduous one, leading through nine complex levels of the underworld, Chicunamictlán, to reach Mictlán, the final resting place. It was believed this journey could take years, during which the deceased’s loved ones would offer food, water, and tools to help them navigate the afterlife’s trials.
Traditional rituals honoring the dead were performed in August by the Nahua people, with ceremonies meant to aid the deceased on their passage. These practices evolved over the centuries, blending with Catholic influences brought by the Spanish in the 16th century, and shifted to the current early-November dates to coincide with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.
Today, Dia de los Muertos is celebrated with offerings of food, drinks, and mementos placed on ofrendas—beautifully adorned altars that are set up in homes or at gravesites. Marigolds are used for their attractive color and strong scent, believed to help guide spirits back to the world of the living. This celebration, which continues to evolve, reflects a unique view of death, honoring the cycle of life and the memory of loved ones in a colorful and joyful way, deeply rooted in history and culture.
Day of the Dead 2024 will be celebrated just as much as the rest of the years, and especially Mexicans are honored to follow the historical lines and traditions of this unique date. Millions of Mexicans around the world get overly excited for this commemoration as it is truly one to remember and has a heartfelt intention behind it.
The Role of Marigolds on the Day of the Dead
An altar isn’t complete without the display of thousands of orangey golden marigolds that bring life to this celebration of passed loved ones. The strong visual color of the flowers is even more striking with the warm colors of candle lights that surround it. There’s a reason the marigold resembles the essence of Day of the Dead. During the celebration, the spirits of the dead are said to visit the living. Marigolds, with their bold colors and pungent scent, guide the spirits to their altars. These flowers have a special symbolism expressing the brevity of life.
It’s believed that Dia de los Muertos stems from an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl whose role was to guard the bones of the dead. The Aztecs considered marigolds a sacred flower so bred them to create bigger and more attractive flowers. Aztecs even used them for decorative and medicinal purposes as well as being edible flowers thought by the Aztecs to cure hiccups and even heal those struck by lightning.
Photo: @frankiefierro
While the history of the marigold post-Aztecs is a bit murky, all species can be traced back to the New World. Spanish explorers took seeds from the Aztecs and survived the long trips across the Atlantic which were cultivated in Spain, France, and then northern Africa. Read more about the significant role of the marigold flower in the article 'Why Marigold Is the One Flower for Día de Los Muertos'. Now that you have an idea of why marigolds for Day of the Dead are a huge deal and probably what you'll see the most in altars, you must know that 'calacas' (skeletons) and calaveras (skulls) also represent both the reality of death and a joyful reconnection with loved ones who have passed. Far from being just somber symbols, people often show skeletons humorously posed or dressed in ways that reflect life’s everyday moments, expressing that death, rather than something to fear, is simply part of the journey. Sugar skulls or painted skulls carry names and are placed on altars to honor the deceased, showing that though they may be gone, they are still remembered.
Three Key Things You Should Know About the Iconic Marigold Flower
The beautiful 'flower of twenty petals' (aka the marigold) is one of the most important ornaments of Mexican tradition. Here are three things you should know about this iconic bloom!
1. The planting of marigolds begins in June and July, and the harvest starts between October and November. The cempasúchil flower is native to Mexico and has been harvested since pre-Columbian times. Its Spanish name comes from the Náhuatl word 'cempoalxochitl'.
Photo: @muerteadasoaxaca
2. You may be wondering which states produce the flower. According to the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry (SADER), Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Morelos, Durango, Sonora and Mexico City are the main cempasúchil producers in the country. In 2021, more than 19,400 tonnes of cempasúchil were harvested nationwide.
Photo: @undiacondya
However, Puebla takes the crown as the largest producer of cempasúchil: growers in the central state planted 1,557 hectares of the flower in 2021. The entire country, for comparison, saw 2,027 hectares planted in the same year. PS: Puebla has beyond amazing marigold fields that are worth visiting. Read all about them in the article 'Flowers of the Dead in the Marigold Fields of Puebla'.
3. The Puebla towns of Atlixco and Cholula, located at the foot of the volcano Popocatépetl, have the best views of cempasúchil fields. Visitors to these fields can walk among large flower plantations while learning about their history and legends.
Day of the Dead Celebration and Traditions
'Dia de los Muertos', contrary to popular belief, is not a Mexican version of Halloween, though the two holidays share some traditions, such as costumes and parades. The border between the spirit world and the real world is said to dissolve on the Day of the Dead. During this brief time, the dead's souls awaken and return to the living world to feast, drink, dance, and play music with their loved ones as mentioned previously. Living family members, in turn, treat the deceased as honored guests at their celebrations, leaving the deceased's favorite foods and other offerings at gravesites or on ofrendas in homes.
The most well-known Day of the Dead symbols (besides marigolds) are skeletons and skulls as previously mentioned. Jose Guadalupe Posada, a printer and cartoonist, used skeletal figures in his art to mock politicians and comment on revolutionary politics in the early twentieth century. His most well-known work, 'La Calavera Catrina', or 'Elegant Skull', depicts a female skeleton dressed in fancy clothes and adorned with makeup. The etching from 1910 was meant to be a statement about Mexicans embracing European fashions over their heritage and traditions. La 'Calavera Catrina' became one of the most well-known Day of the Dead icons.
People commonly wear skull masks and eat sugar candy molded into the shape of skulls during modern Day of the Dead celebrations. 'Pan de muerto', the traditional sweet baked good of Day of the Dead celebration, reflects the pan de animas of All Souls Day rituals in Spain. Other foods and drinks associated with the holiday but consumed year-round include spicy dark chocolate and atole, a corn-based drink. All in all, its a joyful celebration to remember the people who will always be in your heart no matter where in the underworld they are.
'Feliz Dia de los Muertos' you can say to someone to wish them a happy Day of the Dead!
