Dia de los Muertos and Halloween can often be confused because they are celebrated within very close dates, but in reality they have distinct characteristics. Dia de los Muertos was originally introduced in Mexico with the Aztec Festival of the Dead, but the traditions have been tweaked over the years. Likewise, Halloween originated in Ireland, beginning with the Celtic Festival called “Samhain”. Now, the popular holiday, Day of the Dead, is celebrated from October 31st through November 2nd by visiting the graves of dead friends or family members. People who participate in Dia de los Muertos leave food, candles, incense, a poem, or a picture at the altar to honor the past lives of people they love. The holiday is still most commonly celebrated throughout Mexico and Latin America. Halloween is on October 31st, and it is celebrated by carving jack o’ lanterns, going trick or treating, decorating houses with a spooky theme, watching horror …show more content…
Dia de los Muertos can be associated with Christianity, because it was introduced by the Roman Catholic Church. Dia de los Muertos and Halloween can both be represented with images of skeletons or pumpkins, they are both a way to unite people together, they both involve festive food and decorations, and they are both a legitimate excuse to dress up for either a parade, a party, or trick or treating. One fascinating thing that is believed to happen on Dia de los Muertos is the portal opening from earth to the afterlife in order for family members to be reconciled with late relatives. Most people don’t know that turnips were carved into faces, but the jack o’ lanterns have evolved over hundreds of years and are now carved in pumpkins. Overall, while Dia de los Muertos and Halloween have many similarities they are both very different ways to celebrate the