Next: 1 to 2 Nov 2026
Day of the Dead
Mexico's days of remembrance, with ofrendas of pan de muerto, mole and hot chocolate scented with cinnamon.
Spices for Day of the Dead
On 1 and 2 November families build altars with marigolds, photographs, candles and the favourite foods of the departed. Pan de muerto is a sweet bread flavoured with anise and orange blossom; mole negro or mole poblano, made with dried chillies, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, sesame and chocolate, is a festive offering in Oaxaca and Puebla; hot chocolate is stirred with cinnamon (canela) and sometimes chilli. The scent of marigold and copal incense is thought to guide the dead home.
The spices
Written by the EveryMasala desk with AI assistance. Background: "Day of the Dead" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Allspice: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5, source
- Chili pepper: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cinnamon: Luc Viatour, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Anise: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, source