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How to Celebrate the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead has been celebrated in Mexico
since pre-Columbian times. Here's how to remember your lost loved ones in a joyful, respectful
way. You will need Marigolds and fruit Altar and decorations Candles Mass Cemeteries Dances
and day of the dead bread (optional). Step 1. Decorate your home with orange marigolds
and fruits in anticipation of the arrival of the dead on October 31. Step 2. Set up
an altar with pictures of deceased family members. Decorate it with flowers, bread,
fruit and candy. Buy some special Day of the Dead bread, which is sold in Mexican bakeries
during the month of October. Step 3. Light all-night burning candles in the afternoon
of October 31. Then attend Mass on the morning of November 1. Although the Day of the Dead
has its roots in pre-Columbian culture, it is today very much a Catholic holiday. Step
4. After mass, visit the cemetery where your deceased relatives have been buried. Take
hoes, picks, and shovels so you can clean their graves and honor their memories. Place
flowers, bread, and fruit on the graves. Step 5. Take part in traditional dances in the
evening. Then return to the cemetery at midnight for a reunion of the living and the dead.
Did you know The Aztecs believed that the spirits of their dead would return to them
as butterflies.