37 Day of the Dead Quotes to Celebrate Our Deceased

The "Day of the Dead" is a day full of celebration and honoring those who have passed — a stark contrast to the morbid way many other cultures approach death. Read the 37 quotes below to find out more.

Many of us are familiar with the colorful skulls employed on the Day of the Dead, which has sometimes been used in fashion. However, this artistry, along with the Day of the Dead or Día de Muertos, holds a much deeper meaning for those who celebrate it, mainly in Mexico.

Rather than having a negative connotation toward death, the annual celebration is festive and filled with many rituals honoring those who have passed. They believe the souls of the deceased visit on this day, constructing altars full of gifts for their passed loved ones. Read the 37 quotes below to learn more.

Juliette Adam's quote: "Death is the opening to a more subtle life.” | Image: AmoDays

Life after Death Quotes

"Death is the gate of life." — St. Bernard of Clairvaux

"For death, Now I know, is that first breath Which our souls draw when we enter Life, which is of all life center." — Edwin Arnold

"Death is the opening to a more subtle life." — Juliette Adam

"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." — J.K. Rowling

Seneca’s quote: "The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity." | Image: AmoDays

"I'm thankful for the assurance we can have that we will be with Jesus after we die if we have trusted in Him to forgive our sin. There is no greater hope." — Randy Kilgore

"Oh, may I join the choir invisible of those immortal dead who live again." — George Eliot, "The Choir Invisible"

"For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity." — William Penn

"The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity." — Seneca

The Fear of Death Quotes

"People fear death even more than pain. It's strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over." — Jim Morrison

Charles Frohman’s quote: "Why fear death? It is the most beautiful adventure in life." | Image: AmoDays

"Death is for many of us the gate of hell; but we are inside on the way out, not outside on the way in." — George Bernard Shaw

"Why fear death? It is the most beautiful adventure in life." — Charles Frohman

Poetic and Beautiful Death Quotes

Kahlil Gibran’s quote: "For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun." | Image: AmoDays

"In the night of death, hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing." — Robert Ingersoll

"Death is beautiful when seen to be a law, and not an accident—It is as common as life." — Henry David Thoreau

"He spake well who said that graves are the footprints of angels." — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun." — Kahlil Gibran

Quotes about Our Loved Ones Living on within Us

Thomas Campbell’s quote: "To live in hearts, we leave behind is not to die." | Image: AmoDays

"We never bury the dead, son. We take them with us. It's the price of living." — Mark Goffman and Jose Molina, "Sleepy Hollow"

"He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us more potent—nay, more present—than the living man." — Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"People do not die for us immediately, but remain bathed in a sort of aura of life which bears no relation to true immortality but through which they continue to occupy our thoughts in the same way as when they were alive." — Marcel Proust

"[M]emory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you wish to never lose." — Bob Brush

"Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them." — George Eliot

Mark Goffman and Jose Molinas’ quote from "Sleepy Hollow": "We never bury the dead, son. We take them with us. It's the price of living." | Image: AmoDays

"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." — Thomas Campbell

More Day of the Dead Quotes

"The dead cannot cry out for justice. It is a duty of the living to do so for them." — Lois McMaster Bujold

"It is a fact of life that we all die." – Catherine Pulsifer

"A human life is a story told by God." – Hans Christian Andersen

"In Mexico, most of the activities and artistic displays connected with this holiday—including special food offerings, cemetery vigils, home altars, and the like—are a folk elaboration entirely separate from liturgical requirements." — Stanley Brandes

Buddha’s quote: "We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it?" | Image: AmoDays

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while still alive." — Norman Cousins

"Día de Muertos has begun! It's the one night of the year our ancestors can come visit us." — Abuelita, "Coco"

"The spiritual dimension of the Day of the Dead is central to the experience of most celebrants." — Stanley Brandes

"We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it?" — Buddha

Norman Cousins’ quote: "Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while still alive." | Image: AmoDays

"Old age. It's the only disease that you don't look forward to being cured of." — Mr. Bernstein, "Citizen Kane"

"But strew his ashes to the wind whose sword or voice has served mankind. And is he dead, whose glorious mind lifts thine on high?" — Thomas Campbell, "Hallowed Ground."

"A day grows old as we do. Do not wish death upon it. Let it live, let it love, and only then should you let it rest in peace." — Michelle C. Ustaszeski

"In the night of death, hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing." — Robert Ingersoll

Mr. Bernstein’s quote from “Citizen Kane”: "Old age. It's the only disease that you don't look forward to being cured of." | Image: AmoDays

At the end of the day, no matter our perception, death is a part of life and something we all need to come to terms with at some point. However, no matter how much you realize it, the grief of losing a loved one never goes away and can sometimes even be debilitating.

If you find yourself in this position where you feel you can not move on, why not try these 50 soul-tired quotes to lift your spirit?