Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos). The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos). The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration takes place on October 31st through November 3rd, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday 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 is a time of celebration when eating and parties are common. Due to occurring shortly after Halloween, the Day of the Dead is sometimes thought to be a similar holiday, although the two are celebrated differently.This holiday is similar to All Saints Day.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to a goddess called Mictecacihuatl. In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures.