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One of the more morbid January dates on the Weird Holidays & Observances page is January 3, Memento Mori “Remember You Die” Day. The astute among you may be wondering, “But wasn’t there a death day not too many months back?”
Good observation! Perhaps you’re thinking of November’s Dia de los Muertos, which happens every year on November 1.
Yes, that is also a “death day.” However, it differs a little from Memento Mori Day. Let’s take a look at both their similarities and differences.
Latin vs. Spanish
The first difference is perhaps the most obvious: their languages.
Memento Mori is Latin for “remember that you will die” or “remember death.”
Dia de los Muertos is Spanish for Day of the Dead.
Origins
Religion influenced the creation of both.
Memento Mori Day started during Medieval Latin Christianity. As Checkiday.com explains, it was a time to focus on the afterlife since “earthly life” ends too fast.
When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico, they introduced Catholicism to the indigenous people. According to The History of the Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos is a blend of Catholic traditions and beliefs with rituals from the Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess, Mictecacihuatl.
Self vs. Others
Dia de los Muertos celebrates friends and family members who have died. It’s a time to create an ofrenda (an altar decorated with flowers, pictures, mementos food and drink) and gather where they’re buried to share a meal with your dearly departed.
Memento Mori Day is not as celebratory as Dia de Los Muertos. (Although, I guess you could make it that way.) However, it’s really intended to be personal and reflective and to contemplate how fleeting life is.
Artwork and Collectibles (especially skulls)
Both Dia de los Muertos and Memento Mori Day have inspired art and collectibles. Skulls are popular symbols and depictions of both.
However, Dia de los Muertos art is usually more colorful and, dare I say, “fun.” Whereas memento mori depictions are, well…not. I guess you could say they’re more “gritty.”
Check-In
Do you observe either Memento Mori Day or Dia de los Muertos?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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I did not know the difference. Nah, I don’t observe either day officially, though I do get reflective now and then.