Day of the Dead - 15th November 2023

Every November, people celebrate the Day of the Dead in Mexico. There are colourful parades in the streets. People paint their faces. They celebrate life and death.

People visit the graves of dead family members. It’s a happy time. People feel linked to their dead relatives.

Festivalgoer: "The closeness between our souls, the closeness to our dead, more than mourning them is to celebrate, so we’re happy."

The festival comes from Mexico. It may be from traditional Aztec culture. Or it may come from Christian traditions. No one is sure.

But this isn’t important to people at the festival. They enjoy the tradition. And the festival continues to change.

Festivalgoer: "It is a tradition that we have had for a long time, and I am glad that we have been improving it little by little with different carnivals and parades, it is something that has always been like that."

In 2008, the United Nations put the festival on a list of important cultural events. Now, tourists travel a long way to see it.

Families put up pictures of their dead relatives. They take their favourite food to their graves. People paint their faces as dead skulls. And they give sugar skulls to friends and family.

Sapeer Kadoch likes the festival. It's a beautiful way to remember the dead.

Sapeer Kadoch: "I think it's really beautiful the way that Mexicans celebrate death. I think it's so special and so unique, it's not something that you see anywhere else in the world so it really, it warms my heart."