No Candies in Guatemala, Only Dead People and Really Cool Art

And trust me, everyone is totally ok with that, including me.

image purchased from Depositphotos

This is my 7th year away from Canada and the Halloween that I grew up with. Here in Guatemala and throughout most of Central America and Mexico, there is no Halloween.

Well. Not the Halloween we know.

There are no children in costumes going door to door on the 31st of October begging for candy.

The store shelves are not lined with boxes and boxes of mini chocolate bars (thank God for that) and other Halloween treats.

In these parts, we celebrate Dia de Los Muertos and what a celebration it is. It occurs on November 2nd.

I’ll save you the trouble of having to use Google Translate for that: it means Day of the Dead.

I’ll be honest. I know little to nothing about this holiday except for a few things:

• they celebrate the dead
• it lasts for up to one week
• the cemetary comes to life with flowers, people laughing and having fun, and drinking!
• many business and offices are closed
• they all have All Saints Day in that mix (November 1st)