Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead in English, is a Mexican cultural holiday that reflects on the journey of departed souls into the afterlife and the brief return of their spirits. The holiday lasts several days at the start of November, and focuses on the remembrance of deceased loved ones and ancestors.

To celebrate the holiday, friends and families build an alter, called an ofrenda, that acts as a small shrine to the spirits of the dead, and often includes photos of the deceased and their favorite foods. These ofrenda's are decorated with sculpted sugar skulls, called calaveras, candles, and marigolds, which symbolize the connection between the living and the dead, to guide spirits home.  

Goldmeier, H. E. D. (2025). Day of the Dead (dia de los muertos). Salem Press Encyclopedia.

Diwali, also known as Dipawali, or the Festival of Lights, is a Hindu national holiday that is celebrated as New Year's in the Vikram calendar during the month of Kartika. It is also celebrated, but according to different stories, by communities that follow Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism. 

The five-day festival falls in accordance with the moon phases, beginning on the night of the new moon in either October or November in the Gregorian calendar. Diwali received its name from the Sanskrit word dipavali , which means "row of lights." The festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance.

Diwali is known as the festival of lights because brightness is very important to the significance of the holiday. Fireworks are lit to brighten the sky with color. People light up their houses, shops, and other buildings with rows of candles or oil lamps known as diyas to drive away evil spirits and to light the way for Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune. Many also float the diyas across rivers and other bodies of water, and it is good luck if the lamps reach the other side.

Harmon, A. (2025). Diwali. 

Salem Press Encyclopedia.

Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is the last of the ten Penitential Days that mark the beginning of the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah. Yom Kippur is observed on the tenth day of the lunar month of Tishri (in the course of September or October).  Jews traditionally consider Yom Kippur the Sabbath of Sabbaths, the holiest day in the Jewish year, a day of prayer and fasting to obtain forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God.

The Day of Atonement is observed in modern times by synagogue services that begin in the evening of the preceding day with either the chanting of the Kol Nidre or Psalm 130. The service includes a special Yizkor, literally “He will remember,” service in memory of the dead, and ends with the confession of faith and the blowing of the shofar, or ram's horn. For some, the break-the-fast dinner that follows includes traditional foods such as the braided bread challah, chicken soup, wine, honey or sponge cake, and taglach pastry.

 Yom Kippur. (2024). Salem Press Encyclopedia.