El Día de los Muertos
	Sugar skull candies on display at a street booth in México

Source: USA-Mexico Culture Capsules by J. Dale Miller & Russell H. Bishop ©1974

Death is very close to the hearts of the Mexican people. Over the centuries they have evolved a rather good philosophy about death and when it comes they meet it much more realistically than most people. The Church helps them to overcome their grief. For a few days they are the center of much attention; friends that they have not seen in years return once more. They enjoy this sympathy bestowed on them, this attention that gives them a certain importance in the eyes of all. On the evening of the wake, the men gather in one room to drink and tell stories; the women in another room weep and gossip. The grieved one has no time to grieve for he/she is busy either supervising or helping to prepare the midnight supper. Indians are known to accept death even more willingly than the Mestizos (people of mixed Indian and European blood). To Indians, death is a great climax, the dramatic finish to the earthly role they have been playing. Death seems to offer them the happiness and peace they have long sought and never attained. Besides, they say, how can death be worse than life itself? For death is like sleeping and when one sleeps one forgets.

You can’t say that Mexicans fear death, it is more like a familiar aspect of life. They joke about it, ridicule, sometimes tempt it. During the Día de los Muertos novelties are sold for the amusement of children. These include: toy skeletons, chocolate or candy calaveras (skulls), calaveras en verso (skull verses), and songs about death. In some small villages, burials are accompanied by reverent fiestas lasting as long as two or three days - an attempt to give the deceased a proper send-off to a new and better world. Since embalming is not always practiced in Mexico, the law requires burial to take place within 24 hours of death. Around November 1, when the day of the dead is celebrated, politicians and other famous people become the butt of jokes and cartoons, and their weak points are caricatured. Families visit their cemeteries and cut the grass, clean their area, decorate with marigolds (the traditional flower of the Día de los Muertos ), bring snacks, light candles, and stay until late in the night.