A NEW festival is to create a special Scottish version of the Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations.

To Absent Friends: A People's Festival of Storytelling and Remembrance is a week-long festival running from November 1, with events all over Scotland devoted to overcoming widespread reticence in Scotland about discussing death,

The festival is organised by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care (SPPC) and is part of the work of the Good Life Good Death Good Grief alliance.

In some cultures, death and the dead are discussed and commemorated much more openly than in Scotland. In Mexico, a major holiday is celebrated each year - The Day of the Dead - dedicated to family and friends who have died.

Graves are tidied and decorated, special meals are prepared, and those who have died are remembered and celebrated.

The SPPC wants to draw on Scotland's storytelling heritage, reviving dormant Scottish customs of remembrance such as Samhain (the ancient Gaelic festival at the end of October at which the souls of the dead were thought to revisit the living) and All Souls Day.

SPPC's chief executive Mark Hazelwood, said: "In Scotland we often shy away from thinking about and discussing issues relating to death. It is hard to acknowledge that both you yourself and the people you love will die one day, but being open about death can help you to learn, plan, offer support and take control.

"It increases your chances of having 'a good death', whatever that may mean to you.

"Our cultural reluctance to discuss death affects how we support each other through bereavement.

"To Absent Friends provides an opportunity for people to remember dead loved ones in whatever way works for them."

The Scotland-wide Essence of a Memory photo competition opens for entries on October 1 and runs until October 22, with an exhibition of the best entries running during the To Absent Friends festival.