"Let's party in the cemetery!" is the manifesto for this religious celebration. Every year families honor deceased relatives by decorating graves, holding nightly vigils, and gathering in the cemetery to party the night away. It's a great time to visit Mexico. The days before November 1st. are spent preparing for the holiday. Everyone is out in the streets; people rush to the markets to buy flowers, candles, and sugar candy in the shape of skulls (a symbol of life, not death), dancers perform in the plazas and artisans display traditional crafts. Day of the Dead is a religious holiday that blends the pre-Columbian indigenous beliefs about the life of the spirit after death, and the Christian custom of honoring the deceased brought by the Spanish conquerors.