As October turns to November, cultures around the world celebrate the thinning veil between the living and the dead. In this Halloween edition of Mexico Monday, created in collaboration with ParfoLab, our certified school in Mexico City, we explore two rich traditions separated by an ocean yet united in spirit: Mexico’s Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and the Celtic Samhain (the ancestor of Halloween). Both festivals honour the departed with vibrant ritual, perfumery and incense, and offerings that invite ancestors to return. Let’s dive into the scents, symbols, and sacred practices that link these celebrations of the otherworld across time and continents.

Día de los Muertos – A Joyful Reunion with Ancestors in Mexico

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a beloved Mexican holiday devoted to honouring deceased loved ones in a spirit of remembrance and celebration. Rather than mourn, families celebrate and treat death familiarly, without fear – reflecting an attitude of making peace with mortality. The tradition has ancient roots: it evolved from the month-long Aztec festival of the dead led by the goddess Mictecacihuatl (Lady of the Dead), which was later synchronised with the Catholic All Saints’ and All Souls’ days on November 1 and 2. During Día de los Muertos, the boundary between the earthly and spirit worlds is believed to fade, allowing souls of the departed to return home for a brief reunion with the living.

One of the most important aspects of Día de los Muertos is the creation of altars (ofrendas) in homes and public spaces. These altars are vibrantly decorated with items to welcome the spirits: photographs of the departed, flickering candles, colourful papel picado banners, and an array of the person’s favourite foods and personal mementos. Bright orange marigolds (cempasúchil), known as the “flowers of the dead,” are arranged in abundance. It is believed that the pungent scent of marigold blossoms helps guide souls to the altar. Trails of marigold petals are often laid from doorways to the ofrenda, forming a fragrant path for spirits to follow.

An elaborate Día de los Muertos altar (ofrenda) adorned with marigold flowers, candles, sugar skulls and photos of departed loved ones. Such altars are built to invite the souls back for a joyous visit. Families include the favorite foods and drinks of the deceased — from pan de muerto (sweet bread) to tequila — so the returning spirits can eat, drink, and rejoice alongside their living relatives.

To further entice and honour the spirits, aromatic resins and oils play a key role. On many altars, copal incense is burned, releasing a rich, piney fragrance. Copal (from the Náhuatl word copalli, meaning incense) is a tree resin used since pre-Hispanic times as a sacred offering. The rising perfumed smoke of copal is said to carry prayers and offerings heavenward and to purify the space, allowing souls to enter safely. In essence, the incense transforms the material into the spiritual, it’s smoke serving as a bridge between worlds. This echoes ancient practices around the globe – for example, the Romans would burn frankincense and anoint the bodies of the dead with perfumed oils, believing the fragrance helped send the spirit onward to the next world. In Mexico’s ofrendas, the sweet smell of marigolds combined with copal’s incense creates a scented beacon for spirits, ensuring that ancestral souls feel welcomed and can find their way to the feast.

Every object on a Day of the Dead altar carries meaning. Some common elements of the ofrenda include:

• Marigold Flowers (Flor de Muerto): Vibrant orange marigolds are believed to attract spirits with their colour and scent, guiding the souls to the altar. They symbolise the beauty and ephemerality of life, and their petals often form pathways for the dead.
• Copal Incense: This aromatic tree resin is burned to transmute prayers into fragrant smoke. Copal’s incense was offered by the Aztecs to nourish the gods, and today it purifies the altar and beckons the souls with its sacred smoke.
• Sugar Skulls (Calaveras de Azúcar): Decorative skulls moulded from sugar honour the individual souls returning. Often brightly painted and labeled with a loved one’s name, they represent the sweetness of life and the deceased themselves receiving the offerings. This popular symbol, unique to Mexican tradition, has no Celtic equivalent – it’s a joyful reminder that death is part of life’s cycle, to be greeted with a smile.
• Food and Drink Offerings: From Pan de Muerto (a special sweet bread decorated with bone-like designs) to fruits, chocolate, or a favourite meal, food connects the living and dead. “We include items the person liked when alive,” explains one artisan; even water and tequila are placed on the altar, because after a long journey the souls arrive thirsty. These treats allow the returning spirits to indulge in earthly pleasures once more.
• Candles and Personal Mementos: Candles are lit to light the way for the dead and represent the element of fire. Personal items, a piece of clothing, or toys (for departed children) make the invitation personal and specific. Photographs of the deceased are prominently displayed – only those who have died, since a photo of someone living would not attract the spirit across the veil. Each altar is essentially a loving shrine, a portal of remembrance through which the spirits of family ancestors reunite with the living.

Together, these colourful, fragrant offerings turn the Day of the Dead into a joyous reunion. Families may spend the night by grave sites they’ve adorned with marigolds and candles, telling stories and even picnicking with the dead. Rather than a morbid occasion, it’s a celebration of presence: the air is thick with floral perfume and copal smoke, laughter and “black humour” about death abound, and the departed are said to join in, enjoying the essence (if not the physical form) of the food and drink provided. In this way, Mexicans symbolically feed, humour, and commune with their ancestors, affirming that the bonds of love outlast the grave.

Samhain – Celtic New Year and the Festival of the Dead

Across the ocean in ancient Ireland and Scotland, the Celts held their own autumnal festival of the dead known as Samhain (pronounced SAH-win or SOW-in). Celebrated on the night of October 31st through November 1st, Samhain marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter’s dark half of the year. In Celtic lore, this was one of the “hinges” of the year – a threshold time when the ordinary laws of time and space softened. Samhain is often regarded as the traditional Celtic New Year, a magical interval when the old year’s end and the new year’s beginning blur into one. With winter looming, the Celts used this liminal time to honour those who had passed and to seek spiritual guidance for the hard months ahead.

Samhain is fundamentally a festival of the dead – a time of remembrance and honoring departed loved ones in the Celtic tradition. Just like Día de los Muertos, the Celts believed the veil between the living and the spirit world was at its thinnest at Samhain. In Irish and Scottish folklore, on this autumn night the dead could return to visit their kin, and supernatural beings (the aos sí, often understood as spirits or fairies) roamed freely among the living. “The dead, and the denizens of the Other World, walked among the living”, as one account describes it. This could be both a blessed reunion and a frightful prospect: friendly ancestral spirits might come home, but malevolent forces might also be about. Samhain thus carried a mix of reverence and wariness in Celtic life.

To welcome the ancestral spirits (and ward off any nastier entities), the Celts kindled sacred fires and offered food. Enormous bonfires were lit on hilltops and in villages as a beacon and purification rite. These Samhain fires were thought to have protective and cleansing power, defending communities from evil and illuminating the long night. People would gather around bonfires in communal celebration, and often household hearths were rekindled from the sacred flames to carry their protective warmth into the winter. The very smoke of these fires was likely rich with the aroma of burning wood and herbs – in some later folk practices, villagers would walk cattle between two bonfires or smudge homes with smoke (a practice called saining) to bless and protect for the new year This use of smoke and flame for spiritual cleansing mirrors the copal incense on Mexican altars: in both cases, fire and fragrance serve to purify, protect, and invite the presence of benevolent spirits.

Just as Mexican families prepare food for their returning souls, the Celts also practiced offerings and feasts for the dead. An important Samhain tradition was the “dumb supper,” a solemn meal held in silence to which the ancestors were invited. Families would set an extra place at the table specifically for the spirit of a departed relative, serving them food and drink as if they were physically present. It was customary not to speak to or look directly at the empty chair – acknowledging the guest without breaking the otherworldly spell. After the meal, the untouched plate of food might be taken outside and left at the doorstep or in the woods as an offering to wandering spirits (in Irish lore, this was sometimes said to be for the púca, a mischievous spirit). Hospitality extended to the unseen was a core part of Samhain. In essence, the Celts, like the Mexicans, believed that their loved ones would come home on this night, and they made sure to provide a warm welcome and sustenance for those spirits.

Beyond the family hearth, the whole community participated in Samhain festivities. People dressed in disguises or costumes (a practice called guising or mumming) as they roamed from house to house, reciting verses in exchange for food – an early form of “trick-or-treat” meant to confuse and ward off harmful spirits by impersonating them. They carved turnips or gourds into lanterns (the precursor of today’s jack-o’-lanterns) to scare away malevolent ghosts. Divination rituals were also popular at Samhain; with the veil so thin, it was considered an auspicious time to seek messages from the spirit world about the future (for example, casting nuts and apples into a fire to see how they burn as an omen of the year ahead).

Through all these customs, the theme of connecting with the otherworld is clear. In fact, Samhain night was said to collapse time itself – past, present, and future converged mystically. The normal order of the world was suspended so that the departed and living could intermingle. Winter was known as the “Season of Ghosts,” with Samhain night opening the gates; it was believed that on this night the dead were released from the underworld to walk the earth once more. This concept is strikingly similar to the Mexican view that the souls of the departed return during Día de los Muertos. Both cultures, independently, arrived at this notion that as the light of summer gives way to the dark of winter, the spirit world draws near.

It’s worth noting that many modern Halloween traditions in North America (ghost costumes, treats for “soulers”, jack-o’-lanterns, etc.) are descended from these Celtic Samhain practices, just as Día de los Muertos carries indigenous and Spanish Catholic heritage in Mexico. In Ireland and Scotland, All Saints’ Day (Nov 1) and All Souls’ (Nov 2) were layered atop Samhain by the Church, much as they were in Mexico for the Aztec month of the dead. The result is a rich tapestry of old and new. Today, neo-pagans and druids in the Celtic revival continue to celebrate Samhain much like their ancestors – lighting bonfires, making altars or shrines for ancestors, and telling tales of the departed. Many will still say that on Samhain “the veil between the living and the dead is thin, and communication is possible”, echoing an unbroken reverence for this liminal time of year.

Sacred Scents and Offerings: Bridging Worlds in Two Traditions

Though oceans apart, Día de los Muertos and Samhain share a remarkable spiritual logic. Both are built on the belief that once a year, we come closest to the Otherworld, and so we honour our dead with what they loved in life. At the heart of both traditions lies a simple but profound act: offering something tangible to the intangible. Whether it’s a bowl of food, a glass of drink, a fragrant flower, or a waft of incense smoke, these offerings are a universal language to say “You are remembered. You are invited. You are loved.”

One striking commonality is the use of scent and smoke in rituals of remembrance. Humans have long used fragrant substances to communicate with the divine or the departed, and these festivals are no exception. In Mexico, the perfume of marigolds and the smoke of copal incense create an atmosphere believed to attract the souls of the departed. The scent is a spiritual beacon – a way to call out to the dead through one of our most primal senses. Similarly, in the Celtic lands, smoke from Samhain bonfires and the burning of herbs (like sage, rosemary, or juniper) served to purify and send prayers upward. Even as recently as the Middle Ages, European villagers would carry torches and censers around the farm on All Hallows’ Eve to bless the land and ward off roaming spirits. We can see a direct parallel: fire and fragrance as tools for sacred connection. In both cultures, aroma is memory – the fragrance of marigold or rosemary can instantly evoke the presence of those who have gone before. (It’s no coincidence that rosemary is known as the herb of remembrance in Europe, often used at funerals for its evocative smell.)

The practice of anointing or cleansing with oils and incense in funerary rites is age-old and transcends culture. We’ve noted how the Aztecs and modern Mexicans use copal resin, and how Romans used oils and spices to honour their dead. Likewise, early medieval Christian traditions in Europe involved incense at All Souls’ Day masses and the anointing of the dying with holy oils, again employing fragrance to sanctify the passage between life and death. These practices spring from a shared understanding: that a pleasing scent can honour the sacred, carry prayers, and even comfort the living by signaling that something holy is in the air. On a Day of the Dead altar, the perfumed smoke curling toward the sky symbolises prayers and remembrance rising for the souls. Around a Samhain fire, the smoke drifting into the starry night might have been seen as carrying messages to ancestral spirits or forming a protective veil. In both cases, smoke is the vehicle that transcends the physical – as it rises and dissipates, so too do the barriers between worlds begin to fade.

Another powerful similarity is the symbolic feeding of the dead. In Mexico, families prepare banquets for their muertitos (dearly departed), lovingly cooking the dishes Grandma enjoyed or offering Grandpa’s preferred cigar and shot of mezcal on the altar. They believe that while the living consume the physical food later, the spirits consume the essence or aroma of these offerings during their visit. In Celtic tradition, we see the same instinct in the dumb supper and leaving of food outside for spirits. The specific foods differ – maybe a cup of ale and some bannock bread in Ireland, versus tamales and atole in Oaxaca – but the act is identical: nourishing those we love beyond the grave. This reflects a shared reverence and care, a need to give hospitality to the unseen. It’s a beautiful extension of everyday love into the realm of mystery. Through the simple acts of cooking, sharing, and scenting the air, both cultures express the belief that love can bridge worlds. Even death does not sever the relationship; on these sacred nights, family bonds are reaffirmed with offerings passed through the veil.

Finally, both Día de los Muertos and Samhain underscore a view of death as part of a cyclical journey, not an end. The timing – late autumn – is significant. The leaves have fallen, the harvest is in; it is the season of death in nature, but also the seeding of new life to come. The Aztecs held their month of the dead in the fall, and the Celts began their new year at Samhain, embracing the darkness before the light returns at Yule or spring. In Mexico, the skull (calavera) is grinning and decorated with bright patterns – death is not morbid but whimsical, a skull made of sugar. In Celtic lore, the ghosts and fairies at Samhain can be eerie, yet the community comes together with bonfires, music, and costumes to laugh at fear and face the dark. Both traditions, in their own way, empower the living to interact with death through creativity, humour, and ritual. This time of year is about remembrance but also renewal: by confronting the mortality of our loved ones and ourselves, we cherish life all the more. As the saying goes in Mexico, “No hay vida sin muerte” – there is no life without death, and Day of the Dead joyously affirms this truth.

In conclusion, the Mexican Día de los Muertos and the Celtic Samhain each offer a powerful, aromatic, and heartwarming answer to the mysteries of death. They show us that across cultures, we seek connection with those who came before us, using all our senses – sight, taste, sound, and especially smell – to feel that communion. Be it through marigolds and copal or bonfires and spiced ale, people find comfort in ritual, knowing that for a brief moment each year, the other world is not so far away. The spirits of the dead join the living once again, tears mix with laughter, and the perfume of incense mingles with autumn air. In these sacred celebrations of Halloween-time, separated by geography but united in heart, we witness a shared human desire: to honour our ancestors, to celebrate life in the face of death, and to recognise that love and memory have a fragrance that outlasts mortality.

This feature was created in collaboration with our certified school ParfoLab in, Mexico City.
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Sources:

• Britannica – Day of the Dead: origins, purpose and modern observance
• Smithsonian Magazine – Meaning Behind Día de Muertos Altars: altar elements (marigolds, sugar skulls, food, etc.)
• The Grace Museum – Día de los Muertos Symbols: significance of marigold scent and copal incense in guiding spirits
• Current Archaeology – The Fragrant Dead (Roman funerals): use of aromatic resins and oils to honour the dead in ancient times
• OBOD Druidry – Samhain Festival: described as Celtic New Year and festival of the dead; spirits walking among living at Samhain
• Wikipedia – Samhain: Celtic festival marking winter’s start; offerings of food and drink for souls, setting a place at table for dead kin
• OBOD Druidry – Samhain Rituals (Dumb Supper): veil between living and dead is thin, communication possible on Samhain night.