There is one special day in the year, a day that erases the boundaries between Heaven and Earth, between pain and joy, between tears and celebration, between the living and the dead. It is the day when Guatemalans dress in their finest clothes, pack up their food and prepare to spend both day and night in cemeteries, in the company of the souls of their departed loved ones, who, on this extraordinary occasion, return to Earth to celebrate with them — eating traditional dishes, drinking, singing and dancing throughout the night. Such a great celebration requires days of preparation. In the days leading up to the event, the cemeteries become places of intense activity and joyful bustle. Every tomb is painted in vivid colours, every name on every gravestone is carefully repainted, and every burial mound is adorned with flowers. Amid men painting their family tombs bright green, children watching attentively as the names of their loved ones are carefully inscribed, and devotees praying before offerings of food and burning incense, children send their kites soaring high into the sky. These kites are believed to provide a pathway for the souls to reach heaven, as well as a means for the living to communicate with the dead.