Embracing death as a part of life is at the heart of a two-day celebration in Mexico known as the Day of the Dead.
Like Halloween, it's growing in popularity in Australia and while there are some similarities, the two are distinctly different.
Wearing intricate make up, visiting cemeteries and laying out offerings like sugar skulls and skull-shaped bread are how Mexicans celebrate the lives of their loved ones during the annual Day of the Dead.
In homes across Mexico shrines are created.
On them are photos of those who have died, candles, flowers and various offerings to the departed.
Paty Galan, from the Mexican Social and Cultural Association, says children are remembered on November the 1st.
"We celebrate the children that passed away for whatever reason so the altar in that case includes toys and all the objects that the kid loved in life and then on the 2nd of November that's when we celebrate the adults and it's a big, big celebration where people go to cemeteries, we have live music, it's all about preparing food for them. It's joyful day because that's when they come back to spend time with us, even though we can't see them we can feel them."
Day of the Dead treats for those in the land of the living include candied pumpkins and what's called the bread of the dead, a sweet bread in the shape of a skull.
The Mexican association's president, Sandra Maye, says that enjoyment is something that eluded her as child growing up in Mexico.
Back then she says there was shame attached to marking the Day of the Dead.
"So when I was little I used to go trick or treating. There has been a lot of changes in the society in Mexico and we're going back to origins and embracing what is ours, Aztecs and Indigenous traditions and rich heritage, so actually I think that Halloween is sort of phasing out in Mexico and now Day of the Dead is growing in importance."
Sandra Maye says increased Mexican migration to Australia has fuelled a growing interest in Latin American culture among the wider community.
"Sort of exotic culture for the Australians and they've embraced the Day of the Dead as one of the very creative and joyful ways to see that process of the dead. I still find families everywhere and restaurants doing a celebration but at the association we're trying to keep the traditional as true as possible so we try to embrace it the way it's celebrated in Mexico."
Costume shop owner Zoe Stewart has witnessed a growing interest in both Halloween and the Day of the Dead.
"Day of the Dead is really big, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The skull masks are really popular, so is the make-up so we do make up tutorials for people if they want to do sugar skull make up. It's just a big way that people can dress up as skeletons so yeah."
But rather than a cultural embrace, she suspects it's more about a love of dressing up.
"All across the board, like birthday parties, work functions, people are getting into it way more because it's kind of quite liberating."
Zoe Stewart says 50 per cent of her annual sales take place in October.
Major retailers are also cashing in.
Martine Alpins, from supermarket chain Coles, says confectionery sales are expected to be 50 per cent higher than last year.
She puts that down to Australians who love to party.
"Halloween has really been an event that they've really loved to get involved in whether that's the community side of things because it means you're knocking on your neighbours' doors, saying hello, you need to always have a piece of confectionery. I think people are understanding that this year and for the last few years."
The American Women's Association, which raises funds for the Royal Children's Hospital, has teamed up with some retailers to stage a Halloween fundraiser in Melbourne's bayside suburb of Hampton.
Its president is Masoomeh Wake.
"The reason that we turned it into a fundraising was because of the traction in Australia. We just realized more and more people, more and more kids are getting into it, they dress up - they like dressing up - and that's part of the reasons we set up the Halloween and gradually over the years the number of people that attend our events has been growing and partly is the awareness in Australia for Halloween."
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