Dia de Muertos celebration coming to Copley Square

The City of Boston is teaming up with Boston’s Consulate General of Mexico to present a two-day Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration on November 1 and 2 in Copley Square from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. A formal event and speaking program is scheduled for November 2 at 5 p.m.

Dia de Muertos is celebrated in traditional Mexican homes where dearly departed family members are remembered by altars lovingly decorated with photographs, papel picado paper decorations, offerings of fruit, favorite food and drink, and candles.

Guests are invited to send photos of their loved ones to be displayed on the altar in Copley Square and join in the Copley Square events on November 1 and 2 to celebrate Dia de Muertos and those whose memories we keep alive.

Photos can be submitted online. Donations of picture frames can be made at Boston Centers for Youth & Families locations at Paris Street in East Boston, Grove Hall in Dorchester, Curtis Hall in Jamaica Plain, and Tobin Community Center in Mission Hill.

The celebration also includes masses of fragrant orange cempasúchil marigolds, also called the flor de muertos (“flower of the dead”) in Mexico and used in the Day of the Dead every November 2. The marigolds, with their bright orange color and scent, are thought to guide the spirits home. The City of Boston’s Dia de Muertos altar in Copley Square will contain 500 pots of marigolds, grown from seed and tended to since August by Boston Parks and Recreation Department horticulturalists.