What Day of the Dead is

Du00eda de Muertos, kept in Mexico on 1 and 2 November, when families build altars and visit graves to welcome the dead back for a short annual return. It blends pre-Hispanic commemorative practice with the Catholic All Saintsu2019 and All Soulsu2019 Days.

UNESCO inscribed the indigenous festivity on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. It is a commemorative occasion rather than a sombre one u2014 the tone is closer to a reunion than a funeral.

Why this date does not move

The countdown at the top of this page is live, and the date beneath it is the next occurrence. This is a fixed date: it falls on the same day of the month every year, so only the weekday changes.

The date follows a fixed calendar rule, so it can be computed years ahead. Where a country observes this as a public holiday, the official government calendar remains the authority for whether the day off is moved when it falls on a weekend.

What is coming up next

Once this date passes, the countdown moves on according to the recurrence rule described above. Calculated lunar dates remain estimates until the relevant calendar or local authority confirms them. See the full list of upcoming events, or use the countdown timer for a duration of your own.