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On Dia del los Muertos, the dead rejoin our world, so we honor them. People glided around with their faces painted like skeletons so that the spirits who showed up would feel welcome. Garfield Park was covered in altars, commemorating specific people or entire family trees who had passed on. The altars had gorgeous mundanities from the dead (grandpa's mustache cream, a shot of Veronica's favorite tequila, Tia's hairbrush) along with candles and candy and prayers. One altar was a short table, covered with a brilliant collection of nail polish. A sign encouraged visitors to paint their, or a stranger's, nails. It was easy to imagine the woman, who died too young, coming to watch her bottles of polish finally be used. It was easy to imagine her smiling.
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Write about commemoration. Maybe you always leave a little in the bottle for Grandma Georgette, maybe you and your BFF have had the same nicknames since middle school, maybe you think of your mother on the days you work the hardest. Write about a small way someone celebrates the past to give it a bigger space in their present.
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