THE DAY OF THE DEAD

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday in which people pray and remember family and friends that have died and they celebrate the return of the spirits of the deceased ancestors. To create an atmosphere that a wandering spirit would like to visit the family often creates dishes that the loved ones liked. It lasts three days long and originated from ancient traditions and rituals celebrating the death of the ancestors.
The central symbol of the day of the dead is a skull it symbolizes the death, rebirth or return of spirits and is used to honor the dead.
During this holiday you see figures of skeleton of skulls-calacas. People dress up in (traditionally) wooden skulls to represent the dead as well. Calacas are seen wearing bright clothes, playing, dancing and singing, to remind the living to embrace death instead of fearing it and to anticipate a happy afterlife. This joyous view of death emphasizes the Mexican belief that the dead don’t like to be thought of in sorrow and that the afterlife is a joyous place.
A Mexican artist created a drawing of a skeleton rich woman and called her “La Calavera de la Catrina” or the female dandy. It was used to represent a Mexican upper class woman.
Many rich people thought them selves immortally, less likely to catch diseases that poor people had; when in fact they were no more immune to diseases as the poor. Posada’s powerful image illustrate that all people, great or small, eventually reach equality in death. The rich skeletal woman, a dead person who could not buy immortality, became the inspiration for a genre of masks and figures that have become an integral part of the Day of the Dead festival's ceremonies.
Mask decorations
Masks are usually decorated with flowers. It is believed the scent of the flowers makes the returning souls feel welcome and happy. Most flowers used have a strong odor, are durable and has their own traditional meaning associated with death.
The most common one used is marigold. These yellow flowers are a symbol of death, referred to as the "flower of the dead". Marigolds are also fashioned into elaborate arches for altars and graves. In some villages, people leave a trail of marigolds from their front door to their loved one's grave, so that the deceased may easily find their way back home again