MEXICO CITY (AP) — Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s famed Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Though the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals.
The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given special burials. But the inclusion of pets on family altars has grown in recent years. Day of the Dead begins Oct.
31, to remember those humans who died in accidents; it continues Nov. 1 to mark those who died in childhood and then Nov. 2 to those who died as adults.
Observances include entire families cleaning and decorating graves, which are covered with orange marigolds. At both cemeteries and at home altars, relatives light candles, put out offerings of the favorite foods and beverages of their deceased relatives. The presence of pets has gained such momentum that now Oct.
27 is considered Day of the Dead for pets and the National Anthropology and History Institute includes tips on its social platforms for how to include them in altars. Mexico City graphic designer Meztli Lizaola makes sure every year that her beloved tawny-coated Chihuahua,.
