translated from Spanish: Why is ‘Day of the Dead’ celebrated almost the same Halloween day?

The day of the dead is undoubtedly the most important date of the month of November. Throughout this season we can start to see cempasúchil flowers, sugar skulls, dead bread and colorful Chinese paper. For several people the line between Halloween and the day of the dead has not been well differentiated, not only because it is on the same dates, but because images are used, very similar symbols even though they are totally different cultures since they are celebrated almost the same day.

Why are they so similar? Is there a reason for this?
There are several obvious differences between Halloween and Day of the Dead, for example:
Halloween is mainly celebrated in the United States and Canada on October 31, while Death Day is commemorated between November 1 and 2 in Mexico and several Latin American countries.
Halloween has Celtic origins, while the day of the dead comes from rites celebrated in Mesoamerican cultures and some Christian rituals.
Both celebrations relate to the death and spirits of the underworld.
Both take place at the end of the year, which in ancient civilizations means at the end of the harvest season.

The reason why both celebrations are on the same days seems to be related to agriculture. In past civilizations as is the case of Celtic and pre-Hispanic cultures, it was in the course of these dates as the harvest period to give entry to winter is over.
But it seems that every celebration has a different importance. For the day of the dead is held that the soul of the loved ones who have already died return to earth to enjoy the offerings and altars attributed to them, on the other hand on Halloween it is believed that spirits come to earth to frighten the living s.

Original source in Spanish

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