The Day Of The Dead

The Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican heritage elsewhere. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and helping support their spiritual journey. In Mexican culture, death is viewed as a natural part of the human cycle. Mexicans view it not as a day of sadness but as a day of celebration because their loved ones awake and celebrate with them. In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

In the 2015 James Bond film, Spectre, the opening sequence features a Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City. At the time, no such parade took place in Mexico City; from the next year onwards, due to the interest in the film and the government desire to promote the pre-Hispanic Mexican culture, the federal and local authorities decided to organize an actual “Día de Muertos” parade through the city. It now sees over one million people attending the event.

On October 31, All Hallows Eve, the children make a children’s altar to invite the angelitos (spirits of dead children) to come back for a visit. November 1 is All Saints Day, and the adult spirits will come to visit. November 2 is All Souls Day, when families go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of their relatives. The three-day fiesta is filled with marigolds, the flowers of the dead; muertos (the bread of the dead); sugar skulls; cardboard skeletons; tissue paper decorations; fruit and nuts; incense, and other traditional foods and decorations

Directions

Costumes

Yes you will need to get dressed up otherwise you wont be allowed to come in!

Plenty of choice on these websites from a few quid upwards for a mask or paint yourself?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=day+of+the+dead+costumes

https://www.partydelights.co.uk/halloween/day-of-the-dead-party.aspx

https://www.escapade.co.uk/productsearch.asp?search=day+of+the+dead

https://www.fancydress.com/day-of-the-dead-costumes

https://www.smiffys.com/collections/day-of-the-dead-costumes

https://www.hollywood.uk.com/