On a calendar, there are so many happy days to celebrate! Most holidays are about good things like love, friendship, and appreciation, but some are more serious. For example, Day of the Dead, which is called Día de los Muertos in Spanish, tells you to remember and honor those who have died.
People honor the memories of their ancestors on Day of the Dead, which is traditionally held in the first two days of November. Día de los Muertos is a national holiday in Latin America, but it’s becoming more popular around the world because it’s celebrated with a lot of style and fun, which is very different from how serious and sad the holiday is usually seen as.
Despite its name, Día de Los Muertos is not only about the dead, but also about the living. Festive ceremonies are meant to connect the living with the dead by honoring those who have died.
As part of the traditional celebrations for Day of the Dead, people visit cemeteries, decorate and arrange altars (ofrendas) with flowers that represent different things, cook calaveras (sugar skulls that can be eaten), hold parades with lots of color and joy, set off fireworks, and decorate areas with statues of La Calavera Catrina, a well-known female skeleton wearing a fancy hat and a bright dress. The of La Calavera Catrina was created by artist José Guadalupe Posada. It is a very important part of Day of the Dead and can be found in almost every part of the holiday.
People who celebrate Day of the Dead use many symbolic items, but flowers have always been an important part of the tradition. For Day of the Dead, people use all of their creativity and kindness to decorate their homes, and fresh flowers are a big part of these decorations.
The most popular flowers to mark Día de los Muertos are marigolds, alternatively known as cempazuchitl flowers. Living relatives put bunches of marigolds at the grave of the dead and also use them to decorate altars.
This article talks about the meanings and beauty of Day of the Dead flowers, whether you want to bring this Latin tradition into your own home or just want to learn more about it.
The vibrant red rose is a beloved flower the world over, representing love, passion, and beauty. During Día de los Muertos celebrations, roses take on additional symbolic meaning, making them a popular choice for altars, gravesites, processions, and other commemorations.
The Significance of Roses for Day of the Dead
Red roses carry a number of important meanings that connect them to Día de los Muertos
- Love and affection for departed loved ones
- Romance and passion for life
- The blood of Christ and resurrection
- The vibrancy and brevity of life
Red roses remind us to celebrate those we’ve lost with fond memories and love. Their bright crimson petals represent the passion and joy friends and family brought into our lives.
As one of the most universally recognized flowers, vibrant red roses illustrate the duality of life and death. Their beauty and fragrance convey life’s energy, while their temporary nature symbolizes life’s impermanence.
During Día de los Muertos bold red roses placed on graves altars, or carried in processions powerfully represent the continuity between this world and the next. They form a connection, showing the dead they are still loved and remembered.
Catholic Influences on the Day of the Dead Rose Meaning
When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico, they brought Catholic traditions with them. Indigenous Aztec festivals honoring the dead mixed with Spanish All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day observances.
The deep red rose connects to Catholic meanings surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Red roses represent the blood of Christ and the promise of everlasting life.
Roses are offered on Day of the Dead altars and grave sites to honor the Christian influences on the holiday, while celebrating the Aztec view of the afterlife’s many stages.
How Roses Are Used During Celebrations
Red roses feature in Día de los Muertos festivities in a number of ways:
- Placed on family altars as offerings to welcome souls back
- Scattered on the graves of loved ones
- Combined with marigolds and cockscomb in floral arrangements
- Carried by participants in Day of the Dead parades and processions
- Depicted in skeleton face painting and calavera masks
- Drawn or painted for calaveras literarias poems and art
Fresh roses or silk flowers are displayed on home altars or ofrendas, often accompanied by photographs, favorite foods, and other mementos.
At graveyards and tombs, mourners lay single stems or entire bouquets of red roses. The flowers may stand alone or mix with other popular blossoms like marigolds, baby’s breath, and white mums.
Giant skeleton puppets and dancers carrying garlands or bouquets of red roses are a highlight of Día de los Muertos parades and public festivities. marchers distribute the roses along the parade route or place them on graves.
Roses in Art honoring Lost Loved Ones
Much Day of the Dead artwork depicts red roses, including the iconic works of artists like Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. José Guadalupe Posada’s satirical 19th century calavera drawings frequently incorporate roses and other flowers.
Contemporary Día de los Muertos body and face painters adorn skulls with red roses on foreheads, cheeks, and crowns. Intricate sugar skulls and calaveras modeled from icing or clay may be decorated with floral motifs.
Poets pen many calaveras literarias incorporating rose imagery. For example:
“Rosas rojas traje para decorar,
Tu tumba querido que tanto extrañar”
(“Red roses I brought to decorate
Your dear grave that I miss so much”)
Growing Roses for Day of the Dead Displays
To grow your own roses for Día de los Muertos, choose a classic red variety that suits your climate. Good options include:
- ‘Mister Lincoln’ – Very large, fragrant, long-lasting blooms
- ‘Veterans’ Honor’ – Disease-resistant with bold, velvety red flowers
- ‘Ch-Ching’ – Abundant, eye-catching yellow-red striped blooms
- ‘Double Delight’ – Stunning bi-color red and white flowers
Plant in spring in full sun. Give plenty of space between plants and provide supports for climbing types. Deadhead to encourage continuous flowering into fall.
If you don’t grow roses, order freshly cut blooms from local florists or flower farms. Choose long-stemmed, unscented roses closest to Día de los Muertos.
The Beauty of Roses for Honoring Departed Souls
The red rose is a fitting symbol of affection during Día de los Muertos festivities. When placed lovingly on an altar, grave, or carried through the streets, roses represent the enduring bonds we share with friends and family, both here and beyond.
Day of the Dead History
What makes Día de Los Muertos a joyful and lively celebration is its afterlife concept. The native Mexicans who started this tradition thought that life on earth was short and mostly just a practice run for life in the next world, so they thought it was very important to keep in touch with the dead. People believe that the line between the two realms is thinner during his time than at other times of the year. People who celebrate Día de Los Muertos believe that the dead can come back to life and join the party.
The holiday of Day of the Dead is a mix of old Mexican beliefs about Mictecacihuatl, the skull-headed Aztec god of death, and modern Catholic beliefs. Aztec people had their month-long festival devoted to forefathers that was celebrated around the modern month of August. During this period, Aztecs honored the souls of departed relatives and paid tribute to the goddess of death.
Goddess Mictecacihuatl is also called the “lady of the dead. “She rules the underworld and keeps an eye on the bones of the dead, which the pre-Columbian Aztecs thought were a way to bring life to the afterlife.” One of the most important parts of Día de Muertos is the skull face that Mictecacihuatl used as a signature.
As centuries went by, the tradition was heavily influenced by the Catholic religion. Día de los Muertos used to be a month-long celebration, but now it’s just two days in Mexico, on November 1 (All Saints’ Day) and November 2 (All Souls’ Day). On All Souls’ Day, people remember adults who have died, and on All Saints’ Day, people remember children who have died.
Flowers of Day of the Dead
Flowers, pictures of Mictecacihuatl, and skull masks are all things that must be present on Día de los Muertos. Fresh blooms are used to embellish altars and craft distinctive flower crowns. The flowers used for the event are usually in bloom in the fall. They have a strong scent and are thought to represent death, reflection, or remembering.
To make your Day of the Dead celebrations even better, here is a list of the most popular flowers.
Cempazuchitl flowers, or marigolds, are famed for their strong saturated scent. Some people believe that when you burn certain candles with marigolds, the souls of the dead come back to life for a short time to enjoy life again.
Putting marigolds on graves and altars isn’t the only way to use fresh flowers on Day of the Dead. The petals of some marigolds are placed in a certain way to help souls find their way back home. In this case, the marigolds serve as a spiritual path or walkway. It’s no surprise that these flowers are often used to honor people who have died and gone to a better place. They represent how fragile life is.
Like the bright and happy mood of Day of the Dead, these little orange plants are called marigolds. This is likely why so many people like to include them in their flower arrangements.
Marigolds are the flower most often associated with Día de los Muertos, but many other beautiful flowers are also used to decorate altars or the graves of the dead. Comb-shaped cockscombs are a popular option to mark Day of the Dead as well. Terciopelo Rojo flowers, which come in many bright colors like white, yellow, red, and violet, are a great addition to this kind of celebration. They also last a long time, so they can be used to decorate graves and altars. In Catholicism, red cockscombs traditionally signify Christ’s blood and resurrection from the dead.
Chrysanthemums are beautiful in the fall, which makes them a great way to honor Día de los Muertos. Many different colored species of these flowers are available, but white chrysanthemums are the best choice for that event. A lot of different things can be meant by this color. Some of the most common are beauty, purity, peace, and spirituality. Mums can be used in every part of the celebration, like decorating the graves, making flower crowns, and decorating the altars.
In many cultures around the world, gladioli are used as signs of loyalty and remembering the dead. During Día de los Muertos celebrations, these tall, sword-shaped flowers are often placed on graves and tombstones. These flowers are beautiful and showy. You can use them alone or add them to a flower arrangement. For the best Day of the Dead vibe, pair them with traditional flowers like mums or baby’s breath.
Kuttem Reese – Dead Roses (Official Video)
FAQ
What do roses symbolize on Day of the Dead?
What flower is associated with the Day of the Dead?
What do dead roses symbolize?
What are the colors of the flowers for Day of the Dead?
What are day of the Dead Flowers?
That is why we are sharing some of the many Day of the Dead flowers that are widely seen during this beautiful celebration and their significance. Often called “flowers of the dead,” cempasúchil, or flor de muerto, these bright orange and yellow flowers’ fragrance is said to attract souls to the altar.
What flowers are used for day of the dead?
One of these customs includes decorating the ofrendas in symbolic Day of the Dead flowers. One of the most popular flowers associated with this holiday is the bright orange and yellow marigold flower, also known as the flor de cempasúchil, which helps guide the souls back with its scent.
What do flowers symbolize on day of the dead?
Similar to flowers, our time on earth is limited, and therefore on Day of the Dead, flowers symbolize the ephemeral nature of life, connecting the living with the souls of the departed. Below I’ve highlighted the most popular Day of the Dead flowers, their significance, symbolism, and substitutes to consider if you can’t find them.
Why do people eat flowers on day of the dead?
Families and communities use a variety of blooms to decorate ofrendas (altars) along with sugar skulls, pan de muerto and other traditional Day of the Dead foods like ayotes en miel, along with photos and mementos the the departed. Flowers are also used to adorn gravesites. These flowers represent the cycle of life and death.