As November approaches, Día de Muertos, one of the most meaningful celebrations in Mexican and Latino culture, takes center stage. While not everyone celebrates or observes it in the same way, understanding what this tradition means to many of your team members can strengthen your workplace culture and employee engagement. It’s an opportunity to appreciate the rich cultural values that shape how people show up at work, especially during significant moments in their cultural calendar.
More Than a Day: A Week of Remembrance
Although most people know that the actual dates are November 1st and 2nd, there is the belief that other souls visit throughout the week. In Mexican tradition, different souls are believed to visit on specific days::
- October 27: The souls of pets come to visit
- October 28: The souls of those who were murdered or died tragically or accidentally
- October 29: The souls of those who drowned
- October 30: The souls of people who died without being baptized
- October 31 and November 1: The souls of children who died before reaching adulthood
- November 2: The souls of adults
It sounds grim, but Mexicans celebrate all week with a smile, sharing their ofrendas and making plans to visit panteones (cemeteries). This isn’t primarily about mourning, it’s about celebrating life, honoring memory, and keeping family connections alive across generations.
From Ancient Roots to Modern Practice
Día de Muertos is estimated to be 3,000 years old, deeply rooted in Aztec and other Mesoamerican traditions. The Aztecs honored death as a natural part of life’s cycle, giving offerings to deceased ancestors, building altars, and burning incense during month-long celebrations. When Spanish colonizers arrived in Latin America, they moved these summer rituals to coincide with Catholic All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in early November, creating a blend of indigenous and European traditions that defines Mexican culture today.
What It Means to Latino Employees
For many in the Latino community, Día de Muertos is about keeping loved ones present in their lives. Setting up an ofrenda isn’t just about remembering. It’s about introducing ancestors to new generations, sharing their favorite foods, telling their stories, and keeping them as part of the family.
This tradition reflects a different perspective on death: it’s seen as part of life’s natural journey. The celebration acknowledges that love doesn’t end, and that ancestors continue to guide and watch over their families.
The Heart of the Celebration: La Ofrenda
At the center of Día de Muertos is the ofrenda, an altar that families create to welcome their deceased loved ones home. These aren’t somber memorials. They’re colorful celebrations filled with meaning.
As Katia from our team shares, “It’s so interesting to learn the meaning behind every detail, from the pan de muerto to the ofrendas. Each day you add a glass of water to the ofrenda, along with other elements, building it until November 2nd.” Each element serves a purpose, and the ofrenda grows throughout the week as families add to it day by day.
A traditional ofrenda includes:
- Photographs of departed loved ones, keeping their faces and memories present
- Cempasúchil (marigolds), whose bright orange petals and strong scent create a path to guide spirits home
- Candles to light the way for returning souls
- Water to quench the thirst of traveling spirits
- Salt to purify and preserve
- Pan de muerto (bread of the dead), a sweet bread decorated with bone-shaped pieces
- The deceased’s favorite foods and drinks, whether it’s mole, tamales, tequila, or other beloved dishes
- Sugar skulls, decorated with bright icing, often bearing the names of the departed
- Papel picado (decorative perforated paper) representing wind and the fragility of life
- Copal incense to purify the space and help prayers rise
- Personal items that belonged to or were loved by the deceased
Families spend hours, sometimes days, preparing these ofrendas with love and care. It’s a labor of devotion that connects past and present.
Day of the Dead in the United States
Mexican immigrants have been bringing their Día de Muertos traditions to the U.S. since the 1890s. Initially, these were quiet, religious observances. Families attending mass, visiting gravesites, and decorating with flowers. Over time, the celebration has evolved and expanded across the United States. Today, one of the largest Día de Muertos celebrations takes place at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, drawing thousands of people each year to honor their loved ones through music, art, and tradition. The cemetery transforms into a vibrant space where the mystical and festive merge, allowing the living and dead to symbolically coexist for a day.
The Hollywood Forever event features more than 100 community altars and a procession of Aztec dancers that connects celebrants to the indigenous roots of this ancient tradition. It’s an example of how Mexican Americans have adapted the celebration, blending the solemn religious observances of earlier generations with the vibrant indigenous elements that define Día de Muertos.
A Celebration the World Has Come to Know
If this sounds familiar, you might be thinking of Disney-Pixar’s Coco, the 2017 film that introduced millions worldwide to Día de Muertos. The movie captured the essence of the celebration: family, memory, music, and the belief that we carry our loved ones with us as long as we remember them.
Coco showed audiences that this tradition centers on connection rather than sadness. The vibrant colors, the music, the gathering of families in cemeteries filled with candles and marigolds, it reflects that the Mexican philosophy that death is not an ending, but a continuation.
Why This Matters for Your Workplace
As one of our team members observed, the increasing commercialization of Day of the Dead, treating it like holiday decorations or another marketing opportunity—misses the point entirely and can feel disrespectful to those who observe this tradition.
This isn’t commercialized celebration. For many Latino employees, especially immigrants, Día de Muertos is a vital link to home, to ancestors, and to identity. Understanding and respecting these traditions shows your employees that you value them as whole people, not just workers. It demonstrates cultural sensitivity and creates an inclusive environment where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work.
When employers understand the significance of Día de Muertos, it communicates to employees that they’re seen, not just as workers, but as people with roots, with culture, with family.
A Tradition of Connection
Día de Muertos embodies a meaningful paradox: it’s a celebration of death that’s really about life. It’s about remembering those we’ve lost while celebrating with those we love. It’s about honoring the past while creating memories for the future. And for your Latino employees, it’s about maintaining the threads that connect them to their heritage, their ancestors, and their identity.
This week, as marigold petals are scattered and candles are lit across millions of ofrendas, remember that your Latino team members are participating in one of the world’s most beautiful traditions, one that reminds us all that love, memory, and family transcend everything, even death itself.
Related Blogs:
– A Latino Thanksgiving: Celebrating Family, Flavor, and Heartfelt Traditions
– Latino Family Values: Fueling Local Economies
https://coolassociatesllc.com/latino-family-values-fueling-local-economies/
– Veronica Cool & Team Honored with Business Leadership Award at Inaugural Maryland Hispanic Leadership Award
Image:
Colorful Day of the Dead Altar with Skulls Marigolds and Candles by Rom creator from ROM CREATOR
