People gather in Edinburgh, Scotland, for the Samhuinn (Samhain) Fire Festival, a Celtic celebration that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, 2008. In Europe, I was Christianized as All Souls Day to remember the faithful. As the nights outlived the days, the ghosts of the dead were said to haunt the living. Many years ago in the Old World, as October ended, the Celtic Festival of Samhain marked the beginning of the barren time, a time of gloom. There are those who believe that the fall reunites the living and the dead. I am incomparable I am inevitable I am inescapable I am the Day of the Dead. Pagans have praised me, popes have proclaimed me, and shamans have exalted me few have forgotten me. My roots are in two worlds and in two cultures. I am the ghost of the departed, and I come to visit those who will die. Crossbones and skulls surround me as life and afterlife become one. I live where the dusk meets the dawn and the heavens meet the underworld. It is our tradition it is what we believe connects those who are here with those who are gone. They celebrate me like I celebrated my family before. They decorate my resting place with beautiful cempasúchitl (marigolds). They build an altar and fill it with gifts, food, and memories.

Through the morning mist, they come to my grave-my friends, my family, those who remember me, those who respect me. A multimedia presentation of this essay is made available online by the Los del Valle Oral History Project. Medrano, professor of history at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Humanities Texas board member, explores the many marvelous and macabre ways in which the living honor the dead at this special time of year. Beginning November 1, thousands of people throughout the Americas will participate in Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) celebrations.

El dia de la muerte