Day of the Dead, or Dia de Los Muertos, is a tradition that goes back at least 3,000 years.

Dia de Los Muertos is typically celebrated on Nov. 2, but it can also be celebrated starting from Oct. 31.

Spanish conquistadors witnessed the tradition more than 500 years ago, and though they tried to get rid of the event, which seemed to mock the dead, they were unsuccessful.

The holiday is celebrated in Mexico and other parts of Latin America and has also made its way to the United States. It may have changed throughout the years, as it was originally an Aztec custom, but it is still influenced by its origins.

Skulls, for example, play an important role.

Calacas, which are wooden skull masks, are popular. People wear them and dance to honor their dead relatives.

People also make sugar skulls with the names of their deceased relatives on them.

There are some people who believe that their loved ones return on the Day of the Dead. Unlike Halloween, Dia de Los Muertos has not lost its "religious and spiritual roots," according to Huffington Post.

In many Latin American countries, cemeteries are not maintained privately. Therefore, it is up to the families to take care of their relatives' graves. On Dia de Los Muertos, families will come to their loved ones' graves and clean them. They may also spend the day there.

Not all countries hold festivals and use bright colors, as Mexico does when it celebrates the holiday.

"In Honduras, Dia de los Muertos is quieter and more somber, where the main focus isn't on the fact that loved ones have died and are gone but rather that they lived and what their impact had been on our lives," according to a Honduran blog. "On this day, the dead are remembered and venerated by family and friends privately rather than openly in community like in Mexico."

In Nicaragua, there will be all kinds of treats for purchase, such as vigorón and buñuelos. In addition, people will also bring flowers and clean their loved ones' graves.

Meanwhile, Colombia calls the holiday Dia de Difuntos, which is still the same meaning as Day of the Dead. The Christian tradition is a day of prayer and remembering those who have passed away. Catholic churches will recite a prayer for the dead.

Although Latinos have worried that Halloween has overshadowed Day of the Dead, the holiday has become increasingly more popular throughout the United States.

"It's like a Christmas thing now," Scott Roberts, director of the Hispanic Marketing Institute at the University of the Incarnate Word, told mySA. "We're moving into Christmas with it."

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