Day of the Dead festival – in pictures

Flowers and candles are placed on top of tombs on the day before All Saints Day' in Rakowicki Cemetery in Krakow. The 1st of November in Poland is a day off from work, and many people travel to visit the graves of their loved ones Photograph: Art Widak/Demotix/Corbis

A Maya Indian woman builds a Day of the Dead altar in her home in the village of Pomuch on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula Photograph: Reuters

A worker carries a tray of pan de muerto, a special bread to mark the second day of the Day of the Dead festival known in spanish as Dia de los Muertos, in Oaxaca, Mexico Photograph: Richard Ellis/Getty Images

A Mexican woman lights a candle to honour the dead at the tomb of a loved one during the Day of the Dead festival in Xoxocotlan, Mexico Photograph: Richard Ellis/Getty Images

A man lays flowers at a tomb in Krakow, Poland Photograph: Art Widak/Demotix/Corbis

Children carry lanterns during a procession ahead of the Day of the Dead in Tultepec, Mexico. People carrying multi-coloured lanterns walk several blocks through the town in a procession to light the way of the angels to heaven, according to organisers Photograph: Tomas Bravo/Reuters

A man poses for a photo next his dog after taking part in the Halloween-themed 'Chilango Run' , (meaning 'I die to run'), a family marathon at the Polanco neighbourhood in Mexico City Photograph: Edgard Garrido/Reuters

Residents carry lanterns during a procession ahead of the Day of the Dead in Tultepec Photograph: Tomas Bravo/Reuters

A Mexican woman wipes away a tear as a Mariachi band play at the tomb of a loved one on 31 October in Xoxocotlan, Mexico Photograph: Richard Ellis/Getty Images

The sun sets behind a cross on a gravestone on the eve of All Saints' Day at the cemetery of Hietzing in Vienna, Austria. Catholics mark All Saints' Day on Friday by visiting cemeteries and graves of deceased relatives, friends and loved ones Photograph: Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

People watch horse riders performing a dance, a day before the annual horse race which is held to commemorate All Saints' Day, at Todos Los Santos Cuchumatan village in the Huehuetenango region, west of Guatemala City on 31 October. Participants dress in traditional clothing and drink beforehand, in the annual race organised by horse riders in the region and local authorities Photograph: Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters

Filipinos arrive en masse at the grave sites of departed loved ones in observance of All Saints' Day at the Navotas public cemetery, north of Manila, Philippines. Filipino Catholics honour and celebrate their dead on All Saints' Day by paying visits to cemeteries Photograph: Dennis M Sabangan/EPA

Workers paint tombstones for a fee during All Saint's Day in Manila. Millions across the Catholic Philippines trooped to cemeteries to honour their dead in typically festive fashion on All Saints' Day on Friday, ignoring appeals from the church to keep the day solemn Photograph: Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images

Missing caskets and damaged tombs are seen behind a Filipino family visiting grave sites on All Saints' Day at the Navotas public cemetery, north of Manila Photograph: Dennis M Sabangan/EPA