If you received a kit from your library, there are a few pieces included to help you set up your ofrenda. Let's unpack your kit and explore the individual pieces.

Wikimedia Commons

Celebrations feature skeletons (calacas) and, especially, skulls, or calaveras. Skulls made of sugar, papier-mâché, wood, and clay are used to decorate homes and public space. The skulls represent both death and rebirth. Sugar skulls, for example, have the names of the dead painted on the forehead, and are eaten by relatives or friends of the dead. Celebrants sometimes paint their faces to look like skulls, or wear masks that, once again, represent the dead symbolically.

DeMello, M. (2021). El Día de los Muertos. The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience.

CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Candles are lit for your loved ones to be able to find your ofrenda, and guide the path to visit.

via Wikimedia Commons

Marigolds are used because of their bright color and strong scent to help guide those who have passed on to find your ofrenda, similar to the candles that light the way.