Many villages build ceremonial arches covered in marigolds with pathways marked with flowers to guide and welcome deceased relatives back home during Dia de Muertos.
The celebration of the festival Dia de los Muertos (alternately known as Dia de Muertos and Dia de Todos Santos) corresponds to the observance of Hallowe'en (or the Feast of All Saints and All Souls) in other countries with significant Catholic populations. These Catholic feast days, October 31-November 2, take on a unique expression in Mexico. As complex as the culture of Mexico itself, Dia de los Muertos is a fusion of pre-Columbian religious traditions (Olmec, Mayan, Aztec).
In Mexico, people die three legendary deaths, the third being the most poignantly final. The first death is the failure of the body. The second is the burial of the body. The most definitive death is the third death. This occurs when no one is left to remember us.
Source: https://www.albany.edu/~dkeenan/isp523/halloween.html
