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PHOTOGRAPH BY NADIA SHIRA COHEN, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION
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These fiery orange-and-yellow flowers dominate broad stretches of the world this time of the year. Right now, marigolds grace doorways and tables during India’s five-day festival of light, known as Diwali. In coming days, their bright bouquets will start showing up in homes in Mexico, Central America, and parts of the United States, ahead of Day of the Dead celebrations next week.
The flower, native to the Americas, has played an important ceremonial role in Mexico for centuries. The Nahua believed the blooms were a gift from the sun god “so that they might honor their dead.” The color and musky aroma of marigold petals, key to the Día de los Muertos traditions, are said to guide the spirit of a loved one home.
How did one flower spread from the Americas to become central to a holiday far away in the world’s most populous nation?
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