About
Why “Light the Way Home”?
Today, 2 November 2026, is Día de los Muertos, the night many families welcome back the souls of the adults they've lost. Families scatter cempasúchil petals and light candles so the visitors can find their way. This site is a small studio for that idea.
It arrives in a week when a lot of people are grieving publicly: Deaths in 2026 is among the most-read pages on Wikipedia right now. An ofrenda is one of the most beautiful ways humans have found to remember someone, and building one, even a digital one, is a good way to spend a few minutes thinking about a person you miss.
What's here
- The Ofrenda Builder lets you dedicate a three-level altar, fill it with more than 90 offerings, light the candles, and share a link or download an image.
- Petal Path is a puzzle game with 15 handmade nights and an endless mode, built on the idea that souls follow the scent of marigolds.
- The Papel Picado Workshop lets you fold, punch and cut tissue paper, then watch it unfold.
- The Calaverita Generator writes affectionate, mocking rhyming epitaphs for the living, a classic of the season.
- The Guide & Quiz covers the ofrenda's elements, the calendar of souls, the nine levels of Mictlán, regional traditions, myths, and 30 quiz questions.
A note on respect
Día de Muertos is a living Mexican tradition with Indigenous roots, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. It isn't Halloween, and there is no single "correct" ofrenda: customs vary enormously between regions, communities and families. We've tried to present well-documented practices and to note where they vary. If you can, visit a community altar, buy pan de muerto and cempasúchil from local growers, and learn from people who keep the tradition.
Privacy
There are no accounts, no trackers and no server. Photos you add to an ofrenda stay in your browser and are never put in share links. Saved ofrendas, banners, stars and quiz scores live in your browser's local storage. A share link contains the whole design, encoded in the address itself.
Sources
- UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage: Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead (proclaimed 2003, inscribed 2008)
- Mexico News Daily: An illustrated guide to Day of the Dead ofrendas
- Crónica (28 Oct 2026): Qué significa cada elemento de la ofrenda and Los 9 niveles del Mictlán
- Fox Sports México (28 Oct 2026): Calendar of arriving souls
- Publimetro (21 Oct 2026): Día de Muertos 2026 in CDMX, parade and giant Catrina
- PBS NewsHour: How La Catrina became the iconic symbol for the Day of the Dead; El Universal: ¿Quién inventó la Catrina?
- TravelPulse: Thank James Bond, Spectre, for Mexico City's new Day of the Dead parade
- Wikipedia: Papel picado, Pan de muerto; México Desconocido: Papel picado de Huixcolotla
- Por Esto (17 Oct 2026): Cempasúchil production in Mexico; El Universal: Cempasúchil, the Mexican marigold
- National Wildlife Federation: A Monarch Migration Timed to Mexico's Day of the Dead; Monarch Joint Venture: Monarchs and Día de Muertos
- México Desconocido: Destinations to experience Día de Muertos (Janitzio, Mixquic, Hanal Pixán)
- TheCollector: A descent through the nine levels of the Aztec underworld
Credits
Concept, code, illustrations, puzzles and verses are original. Typefaces are Fraunces and Nunito Sans from Google Fonts. Emoji are drawn by your device. Built as a static site with no libraries.