On October 31, All Hallows Eve, the children make a children's altar to invite the angelitos (spirits of dead children) to come back for a visit. November 1 is All Saints Day, and the adult spirits will come to visit. November 2 is All Souls Day, when families go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of their relatives. The three-day fiesta filled with marigolds, the flowers of the dead; muertos (the bread of the dead); sugar skulls; cardboard skeletons; tissue paper decorations; fruit and nuts; incense, and other traditional foods and decorations.
I thought that Frances Ann Day best summarized what happens on el Dia De Los Muertos from her book "Latina and Latino Voices in Literature" (72). It is a time for people to remember family members that have died and to celebrate the life that they lived on Earth. The most important custom that happens on this holiday is the decorating of graves or the building of an alter for the loved ones who have passed.
Here is a video that shows a more modern version of what happens on el Dia De Los Muertos.
This video shows how women do their makeup and hair for el Dia De Los Muertos if they choose to dress up.
Here is a video that gives a step by step instruction on how to make sugar skulls. It is important to know that although they are edible, it is not recommended to eat them (they are more used for decoration).
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