Libraries & Librarians

Celebrating Día de los Muertos at the Library

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee

October 19, 2026

Día de los Muertos (or Día de Muertos/Day of the Dead) is a holiday that is traditionally celebrated in Mexico and in parts of Latin America with the purpose of honoring our loved ones who have passed away. Observed on November 1-2, it is often called “Mexican Halloween”. But it is not! With roots in indigenous and Catholic customs, it is a time for families to come together to celebrate and remember the life of their loved ones, with ofrendas (altars), food, music, prayer, and cemetery visits. It is more of a festive than a somber occasion.

Día de los Muertos is a holiday near and dear to my heart. I grew up putting an ofrenda up each year and listening to stories of passed loved ones. My parents, brother, and I would spend Halloween night making pan de muerto (bread of the dead) to place on the ofrenda. It was also one of the first cultural library programs I attended as a child at mylocal library branch. My family and I would look forward to decorating a sugar skull at the library every year to place on our ofrenda.

From left to right: Myself, my mom and younger brother at our local library branch’s sugar skull workshop circa 2008. Faces blurred for patron privacy. Image courtesy of Maria Leon-Roman.

I knew when I became a children’s librarian that this would be a program that I would want to host at my branch. We just wrapped up our third year of hosting! Here’s what I’ve done over the years.

2024:

For our first year we hired a local presenter to lead a workshop on painting a ceramic sugar skull. They gave a presentation at the beginning of the program, explaining the significance of the holiday. We had 38 total skulls decorated, and about 45 people in total came to the program. It was a very busy, messy, chaotic, fun 2 hours filled with joy, laughter, and cultural appreciation. The joy I saw on the faces of our Latino/a/e patrons, especially our older adult patrons (a few who this was their first library program ever!) brought me an immense sense of joy and peace; a full circle moment even.

Patrons painting their ceramic skulls. Faces blurred for patron privacy. Image courtesy of Maria Leon-Roman.

2025:

We hired the same presenter as 2024, but this time decided to use actual sugar skulls. I’ll admit this was a lot more work on my part. We bought 76 sugar skull blanks from Mexican Sugar Skull as well as all the materials to make the icing and decorations. I spent a good chunk of my shifts the day before and day of making the icing. I brought in my stand mixer from home and had to take multiple breaks so it wouldn’t overheat. I felt more stressed this time around due to all the prep the sugar skulls needed. For this event, we had 40 participants and most got to decorate 2 skulls. Lots of happy patrons!

2026:

This year, I went with a different presenter that I had partnered this past summer for our sugar skull decorating workshop. I love the way she guided the program as she provided all the materials, and no icing was involved! She was very engaging and led patrons through the different steps of decorating the skulls while explaining the
significance of the holiday. We had 30 participants and everyone went home with a decorated skull. We had families saying they look forward to next year’s program.

Images show examples of sugar skulls our
participants made. Materials include tissue paper, sequins, fabric paint, and frosting as
glue. Image courtesy of Maria Leon-Roman.

For each program, I also bought pan de muerto from one of our local bakeries for patrons to enjoy during the program.

One of 5 pan de muerto we bought for the program. Delicious. Image courtesy of Maria Leon-Roman.

We have also held a branch ofrenda, as a way to promote these programs, and for patrons to learn about this holiday.

Our branch ofrenda from 2024. Patrons were encouraged to place images of their loved ones along with a butterfly dedication. By November 2nd, the ofrenda was incredibly full. Faces blurred for patron privacy. Image courtesy of Maria Leon-Roman.

I want to hear from you! Does your branch host a Día de los Muertos program? What has worked for your program and what do you hope to improve on? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

References:
Petruzzello, M., Angell, K. (2026, October 18). Day of the Dead. EncyclopediaBritannica.

Maria Leon-Roman is a Children’s Services Librarian at the Seattle Public (SPL). Her childhood love of books and libraries inspired her to try to apply for a library job at the age of 8. She eventually got hired as a Student Assistant at age 17 and has spent the last 12 years working through the ranks at SPL. She is currently serving as co-chair of the ALSC Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee. Outside of work, Maria loves to play video games, bake, and obsess over her dog, Simón.

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