Cozumel islanders celebrate Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, along with the rest of Mexico.

Learn more on our Mayan Day of the Dead tour

Held on the first and second day of November each year, although the celebrations may sound morbid for some cultures, in Mexico they are approached joyously.

In this part of Mexico, traditions can also be observed from Hanal Pixan, the even older local Mayan pre-Hispanic tradition.

The pre-Hispanic celebrations of the dead existed well before the Catholic traditions arrived with Spanish invaders, which later resulted in the modern Day of the Dead we now know.

These days, the event remembers and celebrates the lives of ancestors and other deceased members of the family.

It is a time to celebrate relatives' lives, not mourn their passing away. The belief is that death is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new stage in life.

Learn more on our Mayan Day of the Dead tour

Special altars are made offering the deceased relatives their favorite items from when they were alive.

It is popular to include flowers and candles, but you may also see food, drink, tobacco and other curiosities. Skull figures called calavaras are also very popular.

Island bakers make special sweet skull-shaped pastries as well, and flowers and memorials fill cemeteries. Marigolds are the favorite choice, a sacred orange flower that represents death.

Learn more on our Mayan Day of the Dead tour