Day of the Dead, Lively Celebrations

NEW YORK—With tons of events going on for Halloween, the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, can get lost in the mix.

Then again, the two festivities have a lot in common. Skeletons and death are the common theme, but Day of the Dead is more about remembering friends and family who have passed away, and less about carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating.

Day of the Dead takes place on two days—Nov. 1 and 2—but in New York City, the celebrations began on the weekend. Traditional Mexican song and dance filled the city’s streets and kids had fun making Mexican sugar skulls or Peruvian clay animals to place on the Day of the Dead altar.

Traditions for the day include building small altars for the dead, decorating graves, and eating pan de muerto (bread of the dead).

In Mexico this is celebrated as a National Holiday, and although not as big in the United States, there are lots of celebrations in New York City.