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This is an ancient festivity that has been transformed through the years, the best way to describe this Mexican holiday is to say that it is a time when Mexican families remember their dead, and the continuity of life.

The original celebration can be traced to many Mesoamerican native traditions, such as the festivities held during the Aztec month of Miccailhuitontli, ritually presided by the "Lady of the Dead", and dedicated to children and the dead. In the Aztec calendar, this ritual fell roughly at the end of the Gregorian month of July and the beginning of August, but in the postconquest era it was moved by Spanish priests so that it coincided with the Christian holiday of All Hallows Eve (in Spanish: "Día de Todos Santos.") This was a vain effort to transform the observance from a profane to a Christian celebration. The result is that Mexicans now celebrate the day of the dead during the first two days of November, rather than at the beginning of summer. But remember the dead they still do.



The celebrations in San Blas and area are small in comparison to other areas of Mexico. Generalizing broadly, the holiday's activities consist of families welcoming their dead back into their homes, and visiting the graves of their close relatives. November 1 is dedicated to the children, and November 2 is for all those family members who have passed away. It is not a morbid occasion, but rather a festive time. The families come to the graves of their loved ones sweep away any debris and decorate, the graves explode with color, they bring lawn chairs and picnic lunches sitting in the graveyard visiting laughing and, in essence, catching their loved ones up on the year past. It’s a beautiful, loving tradition that honors not tries to forget their dead.

Some however stare up at you, some with a small glimmer of someone's life once celebrated



then there was a childs grave, abandoned, no one decorated or came to celebrate, I wonder if it is just to painful.