Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is observed on Sunday, November 1 and Monday, November 2, 2026. It is not Halloween and it is not meant to be frightening. It is a time to remember the people we have lost and to welcome them back for a visit, and on the Peninsula the biggest public celebration is a short drive from San Carlos, in downtown Redwood City. This is a short guide to what the holiday is, the flowers at the heart of it, how to take part respectfully, and what to send someone who is remembering a person this week.
A note before we start. Día de los Muertos belongs to the families and communities who keep it. We are florists, not experts in the tradition, so everything here comes from sources we name at the end, and where we are describing what we understand, we say so.
🕯️ What the Day Is
UNESCO, which added the tradition to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008, describes Día de los Muertos as a commemoration of the temporary return to Earth of deceased relatives and loved ones. Families lay flower petals, candles, and offerings along the path from the cemetery to the home, and prepare the favorite dishes of the people they are remembering. As Smithsonian Magazine explains, November 1 (All Saints’ Day) is traditionally for children who have died, and November 2 (All Souls’ Day) is for adults.
Casa Círculo Cultural, the Redwood City organization behind the celebration described below, puts the family side simply: families go to the cemetery, visit the graves of their relatives, clean and sometimes paint the grave, leave flowers (marigolds), and light candles. It also notes that Mexican American communities have celebrated the day in the United States for hundreds of years, and that the holiday today is a blend of cultures and voices.
🌼 The Flower of the Dead
The flower most tied to the holiday is the cempasúchil, the marigold, called the “flower of the dead” (flor de muerto). Its bright orange color and strong scent are said to guide the souls of the dead back to the altar, and petals are scattered to mark the path. As we understand it, the marigold is native to Mexico, and the Mexica were already decorating altars, offerings, and tombs with it before the Spanish conquest.
Two other flowers appear again and again on traditional altars. Celosia, called terciopelo or cresta de gallo (cockscomb) in Mexico, in deep red and purple, is described as a flower of mourning, a quiet counterpoint to the glowing marigold. And the small white flower called nube or velo de novia, which a florist would call baby’s breath, is used as a soft filler; as we understand it, it stands for purity and the peaceful passage of souls, and it appears on every altar, in greater quantity on those for children.
That gives you a palette any bouquet can borrow without copying a tradition: marigold orange, one deep red accent, and white.
📸 The Ofrenda
An ofrenda is a home altar, often built in tiers that stand for heaven, earth, and the underworld. The usual elements are photographs of the people being remembered, candles, water, salt, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), papel picado (cut paper), favorite foods and drinks, copal incense, sugar skulls, and flowers. Smithsonian Magazine’s guide to altar objects adds some of the meanings: the photos are always of someone who has died, the holes in the papel picado let souls pass through, and salt is set out to purify and to quench thirst.
📍 Redwood City’s Celebration: Sunday, November 8
If you would like to see ofrendas and join a community celebration, the one to know is in downtown Redwood City. Casa Círculo Cultural presents it with the San Mateo County History Museum and the Redwood City Parks & Arts Foundation. Here is what the organizers and local news have published for this year:
- When: Sunday, November 8, 2026, from 3:00 to 8:30 p.m. The traditional days are November 1 and 2; the public celebration is held on a Sunday, which this year is the 8th.
- Where: Courthouse Square, on Broadway between Hamilton Street and Middlefield Road, in downtown Redwood City.
- What: a free, family event with live performances, an exhibition and contest of traditional altars, face painting, local food vendors, and activities for all ages. Casa Círculo’s page also lists a trunk-ofrenda contest, “Recuerdos sobre ruedas” (“Memories on Wheels”), for remembering children.
- This year’s theme: inspired by Tlaxcala, a region of Mexico known for its history and Indigenous heritage.
The organizers said the full performer schedule would be posted closer to the date, so check Casa Círculo Cultural’s page before you go. Plans change, and we are reporting what was published when we looked on October 27, 2026.
🤝 Taking Part Respectfully
If this is your family’s tradition, you know it far better than we do. If you are a neighbor, coworker, or friend who would like to take part or to support someone who does, a few kind habits go a long way:
- Ask before you add anything to someone else’s ofrenda.
- Include only photos of people who have died.
- Treat it as remembrance, not decoration, a costume, or a Halloween party.
- Let the family lead, and listen more than you explain.
- Mind the flames. Ofrendas are full of paper and petals, so keep candles away from papel picado, dry petals, and fabric, never leave a candle unattended, and use flickering LED candles around children and pets.
💐 What We Can Send
We cannot promise a particular flower, and a florist’s arrangement does not replace a family’s ofrenda. What we can do is deliver warm, bright flowers to someone who is remembering a person this week: oranges, golds, deep reds, and white, in an arrangement for the table beside the photographs. Golden mums are an easy autumn stand-in, and our guide to mums has the details. A plant works too, for someone who wants something that stays.
For a friend who lost someone this year, this can be a tender first Día de los Muertos, and a bouquet is a way of saying you remember too. A few card ideas:
- “Thinking of you and everyone you are remembering this week.”
- “May your ofrenda be full of light.”
- “I remember [name] with you.”
Write the message in the language your friend would most like to read. If you are sending sympathy flowers more broadly, our guide to sympathy flowers on the Peninsula covers what to write and when to send, and why every culture sends flowers to the dead puts this holiday in a wider story.
We deliver seven days a week, including Sundays, so flowers can arrive on November 1 itself. We deliver to Redwood City, San Mateo, Belmont, Menlo Park, Foster City, Burlingame, and across the Peninsula, and ordering early gives you the best choice.
🧡 The Short Version
Marigolds light the way, red and white fill in the rest, and the heart of the day is remembering. Learn first if the tradition is new to you, follow the family’s lead, consider the free celebration in Redwood City on November 8, and send warm flowers to someone who is missing a person this week.
Sources: UNESCO (“Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead”); Smithsonian Magazine (“The Meaning Behind Six Objects on Día de los Muertos Altars,” 2019); N+ (“Flores típicas de Día de Muertos”); Casa Círculo Cultural’s Día de los Muertos page; and Telemundo 48 (“Evento de Día de Muertos 2026 en Redwood City Courthouse Square,” published October 14, 2026). Event details were read on October 26–27, 2026 and may have changed since.