The Day of the Dead (El DÃa de los Muertos or All Souls' Day) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.
​The celebration occurs on November 1st and 2nd in connection with the Catholic holiday of All Saints' Day which occurs on November 1st and All Souls' Day which occurs on November 2nd. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. ​ The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back to the indigenous Olmec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Mexican or Aztec, Maya, Purépecha, and Totonac. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors have been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2500 - 3000 years. In the pre-Hispanic era, it was common to keep skulls as trophies and display them during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.
The three states comprising Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula are a part of the Mundo Maya (Mayan World). Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatan all celebrate the Day of the Dead in a similar fashion. The celebration begins on October 31st, the day on which souls are believed to arrive to visit their family and enjoy a few days of festivities. An offering of hanal-pixan ("soul food" in Mayan language) is prepared, according to the preferences of the departed. In the early morning hours of October 31st, the souls of dead children appear. They will be received with atole (non-alcoholic drink made with water and corn flour) and corn on the cob, which is first boiled and then roasted. While the children's souls are wandering about and eating, the family say the rosary and pray for them.
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The prayers and absolute quiet are a way of asking for peace for the loved one's soul and for those who continue living. When the prayers are finished, the children's souls leave the house and the family eats breakfast. Another reception is then prepared for midday: an offering consisting of chicken stew, chocolate, cookies, a dessert made with squash, as well as bread, soup, meat, vegetables, atole and fruit. On November 1st, the souls of the adults arrive, guided by the light of the votive candles which have been placed around the houses—one for each departed soul and a few extra ones, in case the family has forgotten someone. The offering for this day is much more elaborate: mukbil-pollo (large, cornmeal baked, dumpling-like dish filled with chicken and pork in a spicy chile sauce), different flavors of atole and chocolates, fruit, bread and a variety of candy.
