Dia de los Muertos - Day of the Dead

Some of the sugar skulls on sale to celebrate Day of the Dead

The Day of the Dead can be traced to the festivities held during the Aztec summer month of Miccailhuitontli, though Spanish priests moved the celebration to coincide with Halloween in a moderately successful effort to 'Christianise' it. The day's activities begin with visits by families to the graves of their close kin.

Families clean the graves then settle down for a picnic and a round of stories about the dearly departed. The meals at these picnics are sumptuous: spicy meat dishes, egg-batter bread, chocolate and sugary confections in a variety of animal or skull shapes.

Traditionally, the day begins with a feast during the early hours of 2 November - the Day of the Dead proper - though urban families usually celebrate with a special family supper featuring pan de muerto (Bread of the Dead). It is good luck to be the one who bites into the plastic toy skeleton hidden by the baker in each rounded loaf. Friends and family members give one another gifts such as sugar skeletons or other items with a death motif. These have been on sale in the shops for the past month.

I went to the main Zocolo area where there were loads of artistic altars set up and many people dressed up in scary costumes. There was a great atmosphere but rather a lot of people. The cathedral was packed out with people remembering their loved ones and I lit a candle for my grandma who passed away exactly a year ago, but is always in my thoughts.

Here are some of the wierd things I saw in the city.