Día de los Muertos acknowledges the symbiotic relationship between life and death. El día de Los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st and November 2nd, in which the spirits of the dead are believed to return home and spend time with their relatives on these two days. To welcome them, the family build altars in their honor. These altars have a series of different components that vary from one culture to another that mostly include yellow marigolds, candles, photos of the deceased ones, papel picado or cut tissue-paper designs, as well as food and beverages offerings for the dead.
For more information, see: The Mexican Museum
Day of the Dead Procession Yucatan, Image: Wikimedia Commons
Santa Muerte, also called La Santissima Muerte, is a Mexican goddess in the form of a skeleton. She is a spirit of death, but she is also Death itself. She is both loved and feared. She began her ascent to popularity in her modern form around the 1950s to early 1960s.
Source: Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes
La Santa Muerte, Monumento al culto de la Santa Muerte en Ciudad de México. Image: Wikimedia Commons