Day of the Dead  November Festival, Oaxaca, Mexico  
The Day of the Dead November Festival in
Oaxaca is a three-day holiday when
families clean the graves and prepare the
tombs for the return of the spirits. During
the Day of the Dead, flowers decorate the
tombs and home altars.
During the Day of the Dead a
visit to the cemeteries near
Oaxaca on the first two nights of
November can be a magical time
because of the thousands of
candles and the marigolds and
cockscomb flowers that  
decorate the tombs. The Day of
the Dead is celebrated in each
village at different times and with
different intensity but the
evenings are sure to be unique
as families come to the
graveyards to sit by the tombs
and wait for the spirits to return.
During the Day of the Dead  in Oaxaca the
markets overflow with flowers that the families
will use to decorate their home altars and
tombs.  Marigold and cockscomb are the
flowers with special meaning, the marigold is
called the Fleur de Meurto, the flour of death.
In the evening  of the last night of October, the
Days of the Dead begin as the family sits by
the tomb and waits for the return of the spirits.
In the new cemetery of XoXo Cotlon, artist Juan Cruz Pascual honors his father 's memory on the Day
of the Dead by decorating  with a sand painting replete with Christian motifs
In the town of Tlalixtac south of Oaxaca City
the families sit by  the decorated tombs
while brass bands move through the
cemetery
Day of the Dead excitement in Oaxaca City comes when the shops in the cosmopolitan center decorate
with candles and flower petals in an unspoken competition of artistic display
Day of the Dead  Cemetery
Visits, November, See
schedule below
Day of the Dead altars or offerings
display treats the departed loved in
life
The Day of the Dead preparations include the decorating with
pungent marigold,  the scent is thought to attract the spirit to the
home and offering
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Oaxaca Day of the Dead Schedule of Cemetery Visits
October, 31
Xoxocotlan. This town a few miles southwest of Oaxaca City  has two Cemeteries, Cementario Viejo, and
the new Cementario Nuevo.
October 31, the village of Atzompa holds a later cemetery vigil starting around 11 pm.

Day of the Dead November 1
Oaxaca City Cemetery, Panteon General on the east side of the city
Tlaixtac de Cabrera, six miles south east of Oaxaca City

San Felipe del Agua, north of Oaxaca City November 2,
Village of San Antonino Castillo Velasco  A flower growing village that celebrates a week after the
others
Day of the Dead, November  Festival Oaxaca graveside night vigil
The Day of the Dead Festival
During the Day of the Dead, November  Festival Oaxaca families decorate
the tombs and home offering tables.