Marigolds? Check. Candles? Check. And of course, sugar skulls — the final touch on altars honoring deceased loved ones during Mexico’s Day of the Dead.

Just like the traditional “ pan de muerto,” these colorful treats known as “calaveritas” (or little skulls) capture how Mexicans remember their dearly departed with celebration rather than sorrow each November.

“Very few customers buy them to eat,” said Adrián Chavarría, whose family has crafted and sold calaveritas since the 1940s in a Mexico City market. “Most people get them to decorate their altars.”

Following a tradition rooted in pre-Hispanic beliefs related to agriculture, many think their loved ones return home to spend the night on Nov. 2.

To welcome them, families set up homemade altars. Candles are lit in the hope of illumina

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