For those that don’t know, The Day Of The Dead isn’t at all dark and morose – completely the opposite actually, here’s a                       brief bit of info about the celebration!

The Day of the Dead ("Día de los Muertos") has a long history in Mexican tradition. Unlike common assumption, the Day of the Dead is not a Mexican version of Halloween. Though related on the surface by “theme” and date, the two annual events differ greatly in traditions and tone.

Whereas Halloween is a dark night of terror and mischief, Day of the Dead festivities unfold over October 31st through                          to November 2nd in an explosion of colour and life-affirming joy.

Sure, the theme is death, but the point is to demonstrate love and respect for deceased family members, thus keeping the memory of them very much alive. In towns and cities throughout Mexico, revellers don funky makeup and costumes, hold parades and parties, sing and dance, eat wonderful feasts including highly decorated sugar skulls and make offerings to lost loved ones.

Although I myself am not Hispanic, I grew up in the south-west of America where I was exposed to this every year. I chose this as a theme as I have always thought it was a beautiful holiday (both visually and in spirit) and it would help me to bring a little bit of the Americas to the UK.