5 differences between Halloween and the Day of the Dead, how to distinguish them. 2021/10/12

We have talked many times about the Day of the Dead, the Mexican festivity that has become even more famous thanks to the Disney movie Coco, but a lot of people associates it, or worse, confuses it with Halloween.

We will give you 5 reasons so you can understand how to distinguish them.

1. THE DATE

Even if there are just a couple of days, one of the differenced is the date: Halloween is on the 31st of October, that is the night previous to All Hallows’ Day. In Catholic tradition, this the term from where it comes from; whilst the 2nd of November is the day for the commemoration of the dead.

2. ORIGINS

The time and geographic origins are also very different: Halloween dates back to the Irish Celtic ages between 800 and 300 b.C when they conquered a part of Europe.

The Day of the Dead dates back to Central America in the pre-Columbian period when the Aztecs settled in the area where Mexico currently is.

3. THE SYMBOL

Halloween’s symbol is the pumpkin: Jack-O-Lantern is a carved pumpkin in which a candle is placed inside of it. Legend has it that ….

“A man named Jack got to trick the devil in Hallows Eve. When Jack died, he could not enter Heaven due to his vicious life, but not even he could enter Hell. The devil condemned him to wander for eternity in nothingness and gave him a piece of wood on fire to illuminate the darkness. To avoid the flame from going out, Jack carved a swede and placed the wood inside as it were a lantern. Since then, Jack has been wandering with his candlelight waiting for Doomsday and it’s the symbol of the condemned souls”.

When the Irish arrived in the United States after its discovery, they realized that pumpkins were easier to crave than turnips and they used them to make lanterns.

The symbol of the Day of the Dead is the Catrina skull/skeleton that is the personification of death and it refers to the worship of the aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl, defender of the dead’s boned. The Catrina as we know it today with female features is an invention of José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver, lithographer and illustrator (1852-1913) who wanted to criticize Mexican politics and society remembering that ‘todos somos calaveras' we all are skeletons, that is we all are skulls (skeletons) and therefore the same.

Skulls also have a more profound meaning and they remind us that life but be celebrated and fully lived and that death is only a passage.

Illustration by José Guadalupe Posada

4. THE SPIRIT (GHOSTS, SOULS)

A fundamental aspect for both celebrations is the spirit, understood as souls, but with an important diversity. For Halloween, the spirits that torment and deceive the living are evil and as a consequence we find the typical disguises of a devil, a ghost, a spider, a witch with obscure colors and darkness. For the Day of the Dead, the spirits are the souls of the deceased that come back to visit their loved ones who are still alive who prepare delicious banquets for the occasion decorated with vivid colored flowers and festoons to better accommodate the spirits.

5. FOOD

Speaking of banquets… food is present in all the celebrations that boast of being one. In Halloween children wander in the streets of the neighborhood knocking on doors and asking for “trick or treat” to stock up on candies. Furthermore, the pumpkin is the basic ingredient of many recipes that are prepared in this time of the year.

While for the Day of the Dead, the Ofrenda (offering) represents the main point of the celebrations and it is an altar placed in the houses filled with dished that include candy skulls and the traditional Bread of the Dead as well as the favorite food and beverages of the deceased when they were alive.

In conclusion, Halloween is a celebration of mystery and the occult, whilst the Day of the Dead is a happy celebration that reunites the living with the souls of the deceased. For you, which would be your favorite celebration? In Tempo di Festa we have prepared party kits with both Halloween and the Day of the Dead themes which you can choose for a nice birthday for the little children, create your own "ofrenda" or decorate your Halloween buffet with originality and also your party.

Visit our store and discover our designs.