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Halloween vs Día de Los Muertos

What is Halloween

Halloween is a large holiday in the United States and is celebrated on October 31st. While there is no direct religious ties, Halloween does fall on the same day as the Catholic holiday All Saint's Day. Halloween is mainly seen as a holiday for kids as is it celebrated by dressing up in a costume and traveling between houses saying trick or treat. After that the host of the house will then give candy to the kids in costumes and the children will continue travel to other houses.

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Similarities 

The main similarities between Halloween and Día de Los Muertos is the art associated with with the two. Both holidays incorporate skeletons and skulls along with dressing up for the holiday. It should be noted that the type of costume varies between the two holidays as Día de Los Muertos typically are skeletons when Halloween is dressing up as anything. Examples below.  

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Differences

While at a quick glance Halloween and Día de Los Muertos do look very similar, the beliefs behind the traditions are very different. Día de Los Muertos is a celebration of death and is to honor the deceased loved ones, Halloween is in contrast as it sees death as something to be feared. This can be seen with imagery surrounding Halloween such as ghost, ghouls and other monsters that roam the night. Halloween also incorporates less of a family aspect and more of a party culture. On Halloween people will party with others while Día de Los Muertos places a heavy focus on family. This is due to Día de Los Muertos being a holiday to embrace death and the loved ones lost. 

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