Spanish NHS Junior Project:

By Victoria Gage
​For this project we researched the differences between Halloween and Día de los Muertos; we discovered differences in the products, practices, and perspectives between the two. Día de los Muertos is more of a happy occasion to honor and celebrate loved ones who have passed. Whereas Halloween focuses more on celebrating the frightening side of death. Another difference is traditional Halloween festivities were to honor the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain; but Día de los Muertos traditionally combines Aztec rituals with Catholicism. Both holidays have similar practices where people wear costumes, have celebrations, and eat different types of candy or food. Decorations are an important part of both holidays; during Halloween, many people carve pumpkins for decorations and during Día de los Muertos many people decorate skulls to honor their past loved ones.