Common items include marigolds, photographs of the deceased, skeleton figurines, water, candles, and incense. A special perforated decorative paper called papel picado is commonly found on or around ofrendas. In Mexico the top of an ofrenda is often covered with a serape, a long woolen shawl. Food items, offered because it is thought that the dead are hungry after their journey back to the world of the living, include skull cookies, pan de muerto (bread emblazoned with a cross), and anything else that the departed might have enjoyed while alive.
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