Why I Love Día de los Muertos
- Gail Conners
- Oct 13
- 2 min read
This reflection is for my friend Mary Ellen, whose spirit and heritage have taught me so much about memory and joy.
The Beauty of Remembrance: Día de los Muertos — the Day of the Dead — has always captivated me. At its heart, it’s not about fear, but about memory, love, and connection. Families gather to honor ancestors not by mourning, but by celebrating. They bring offerings of food, drink, flowers, and art. It’s a reminder that death isn’t an ending, but part of the ongoing story of a life.
The Skulls as Symbols: One of the traditions I adore most are the skulls — the sugar skulls, painted skull masks, and the incredible calacas artwork. To me, they don’t feel grim. They feel joyful. They’re bold, colorful, and full of life. Each one is decorated as a tribute, a celebration of personality and spirit. It’s a way of saying: we see you, we remember you, we carry you with us.
A Different Way of Seeing: I wasn’t raised with this way of honoring the dead. In my own upbringing, death was something different. Día de los Muertos meets death with reverence and with joy. It reminds me that memory isn’t a burden — it’s a celebration.
Strangely enough, I feel more attuned to this tradition than to my own heritage. It speaks to the way I’ve come to understand my work in the shadows: every ghost story begins with love, with grief, and with someone who deserves to be remembered.
Closing Thought: When I see a Day of the Dead skull, I see joy in the face of mortality. I see courage, humor, reverence, and art woven together. I see the past still walking with us. And that is something I’ll always celebrate.
“To remember is to keep alive.”
Día de los Muerto Events in Southern Colorado:
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