Day of the Dead

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) originated in Mexico.  It's a day of celebration and remembrance of family and friends who have passed away.  People make altars at home and clean and decorate the graves with marigolds, favourite food, drinks and memorabilia of the departed.  

On the Day of the Dead, it's believed the border between the spirit world and the real world dissolves.  Then the souls of the dead awaken and are guided home to eat, drink and dance with their loved ones.

The most common symbols of the celebrations are the skull and skeletons!  

The roots of the celebration go back 3000 years to the rituals honouring the dead in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. 

The Pixar / Disney animation Coco (2017) is a fabulous film that explains Day of the Dead so well!  It won two Oscars.

This Oor Wullie skeleton is at the bottom of Lothian Road, opposite the Caledonian Hotel (now Waldorf Astoria).  The decoration is a nod to Scotland's long history with medical science and research.