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Spanish and indigenous traditions surrounding the holidays melded to form new customs. Today’s Day of the Dead celebrations still show elements of both the indigenous observances as well as All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. In addition, some of the popular customs of Halloween have influenced these celebrations. The resulting holiday celebrates death in general while also honoring an individual’s deceased ancestors. Some cultures have holidays specifically devoted to honoring deceased relatives. On Tomb Sweeping Day, many people from Asian countries, such as China and Taiwan, go to cemeteries to honor their dead. Families gather at the graves of their loved ones to clean and decorate the gravesites. They prepare food to enjoy together and to offer to the deceased. Also celebrated in Asia is the Ghost Festival. This festival involves elaborate feasts prepared for both the living and the dead. People believe that during this time their deceased ancestors return to the world of the living to enjoy the feasts and to visit with their families.

t Revelers dressed as a skeleton for a Day of the Dead celebration in El Salvador on November 1.

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