Day of the Dead, Oaxaca's All Souls Day, Mexico  
Day of the Dead Altar in Oaxaca
The Day of the Dead Festival is a three day November holiday when families
prepare the tombs for the return of the spirits.  During this time flowers play an
important role in decorating the tombs and home altars. Families leave offerings
for the spirits in the home and at the cemetery.
Cemetery Visits
On the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca a visit to the cemeteries 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. Each village celebrates 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.
Flowers and candles make the cemeteries mysterious places during
the November vigil for the spirits. Your visit is welcome
In the family-oriented villages all members will spend the day decorating the tomb. At the plaza in the
village of XoXo, near Oaxaca City,  the town usually builds a huge altar decorated with candles and
flowers, fruit and candy,  a community effort to celebrate the Days of the Dead.
In the cemetery of XoXo Cotlon, families prepare the tombs by cleaning and decorating them with
candles and flowers. They sit by the tombs in a night vigil of waiting for the spirits of loved ones to return
In the Etla Valley north of Oaxaca City, villagers
stage a play in which they visit houses and on
this one night, possessed by the spirits,  they
can insult even the highest officials.
Competition for
the best offering
(ofrenda) or sand
painting attracts
visitors to
Oaxaca's village
of XoXo.
Competition for the best
altar at Oaxaca's,Main
cemetery.
The Day Of The Dead is
Oaxaca's all Souls Day

The Day of the Dead in Oaxaca
combines ancient festival with
Christian feast days and is
something special.

Imagine a cemetery in the dark
of night ablaze with thousands
of candles, the people of the
village sitting by the
gravestones in a night vigil as
the men gather and chant.
The scent of copal incense and
the perfume of marigold flowers
fills the air; You stand there
spellbound.

The Days of the Dead  start in
the afternoon of the last day in
October when the families go to
the cemetery to clean and
decorate the tombs.
The Day of the Dead is one of
Oaxaca City's most important
festivals. An ancient ritual now
combined with All Souls and All
Saints day of the Christian tradition.
The people of the city celebrate with
musical concerts,  gallery
openings, art museum exhibits,
parades, and sand paintings and
decorated altars in the
pedestrian-only streets.  Oaxaca's
hotels, restaurants and shops
decorate their entryways in a
friendly competition  and
restaurants feature the regional
cuisine of Oaxaca.
Where is Oaxaca and how do you get there:
Oaxaca Hotels      
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
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The Day Of The Dead is Oaxaca's all Souls
Day  As such the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca
combines ancient festival with Christian feast
days and is something special.