November 1 and 2 are important days for many cultures around the world, bringing families and friends together to pay respects and remember family members and friends who have died.

Probably best known is Día de (los) Muertos which is celebrated in Mexico, this year on November 2. Traditions connected with the holiday include honoring the deceased using calaveras and marigold flowers known as cempazúchitl, building home altars called ofrendas with the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these items as gifts for the deceased. Other countries where All Saints Day is celebrated include Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, El Salvador and the Philippines.

In the Philippines, it is a public holiday. Families go to the cemetery, often camping overnight by the tombs of their relatives. First they clean, leave flowers and light candles on the graves, before eating, drinking and celebrating the lives of their loved ones. 

In Whistler, check out the Mexican Corner restaurant who sometimes build their own ofrenda...

Diwali, the festival of lights, is one of the most popular holidays in India, especially for Hindus. It marks the triumph of good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, light over darkness and new beginnings.

Diwali is celebrated with the new moon, the darkest night of the lunar cycle, and candles and clay lamps called diyas are lit in homes and streets. This year, the five days of festivities extend to November 3. 

Day one, Dhanteras, is a day for preparation when people clean their homes or make decorations. Day two, Naraka Chaturdasi, is for decorating homes with lamps. On day three, Lakshmi Puja, families gather to celebrate the goddess Lakshmi with prayers, feasts, and fireworks. Friends and relatives visit with gifts on day four, Govardhan Puja. On day five, Bhai Dooj, brothers visit their married sisters. 

Elaborate decorations, called rangoli, made from chalk and powders, or even turmeric, rice, flour or lentils, are often drawn on the floor of homes to welcome gods and goddesses and keep evil spirits away. 

On November 11, we observe Remembrance Day, or Poppy Day. Started after World War 1 finished in 1918, it commemorates the moment World War 1 ended - at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Remembrance Day in Canada, also known as ‘Jour du Souvenir,’ is a statutory holiday in six of the 10 provinces. Canada has declared that the date is of “remembrance for the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace,” particularly the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and all conflicts since then in which members of the Canadian Armed Forces have participated.

The red poppy, which grew in Europe where the fighting happened, has become a symbol of remembrance. Poppies are worn by people to remember all those who have died serving their country. Red poppies symbolize the memory of those who died and white poppies represent non-military personnel who died in conflict situations. Why a red poppy? because they grew widely in places where fighting happened and on the fields of graves of soldiers. There is a famous poem by a Canadian military doctor, John McRae, called In Flanders Fields, which is often read at Remembrance Day ceremonies. 

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