As autumn holidays begin to come closer, a reminder that calaveras(Sugar Skulls/skeletons with similar patterns & designs) & Día de Los Muertos Is NOT halloween. I know a lot of people enjoy the aesthetic of it, but there's a very big difference if it's not a part of your culture

I'm really tired of seeing it in stores being sold alongside the Halloween decorations. If anything día de los muertos/the day of the dead is far from what halloween is. It is on Nov 2-3 and celebrates both death and life. There is nothing "evil" or "spooky" about it.

It is a celebration of life & death.Commemorating those who have passed on by visiting their graves, decorating with marigolds, candles, pan dulce & their pictures. Some people even make altars/vigils in their homes for loved ones who have passed on. It is not about fearing death

It usually is something that can bring families & communities together to appreciate their history & each other's lives. It is a lively tradition with music & dance & plays/puppetry and it's especially strong to the Mexican culture & my heritage.

So to see it paired with halloween, or made into a gimmick along side just for the aesthetic and money feels very insulting. Just as Cinco de Mayo was twisted into a holiday (which it is not) commercialism does it again by twisting a long tradition to fit into it's agenda.

I will probably make a better version of this thread in the month of October, but please do not go buying the mass produced products thinking they're a part of Halloween Or just cause of the aesthetic.
It has a way deeper meaning & a long history of Mexican culture & tradition.

I'm not saying to not go buy out skeletons & skull decoration, those are pretty cool on their own!
I'm saying to keep an eye out specifically for calaveras & imagery of them & costumes that are now gimicky & mass produced.
Also watch out for the face paints/kits too on Halloween.

I hope I'm not the only one bothered by this "cultural appropriation" being misconstrued to be "cultural appreciation"

This has bothered me for years & I know many want our Mexican culture to be represented, but not like this. (Especially "cinco de mayo" that bothers me so much)

Some movies that actually did give wonderful representation are La Libro de La Vida (The Book of Life) & Coco. Coco focuses mainly on Día de los muertos & some tradition, but La Libro actually goes in & shows Vida(life) & La Muerte(death) & tradition/ lifestyle too! Both do great

I also recommend highly that you go and research things yourself about this holiday/celebration, Día de Los Muertos and Mexican culture & traditions. Heck the information on alebrijes alone and how it started is such an interesting thing for you to look at & learn.

There's so much to explore and be inspired by others culture and it can be represented in a good way! Just this time around it's actually not doing so great. I hope maybe one day in the future that might change. Not just for my culture, but for many others our there too.

Thanks