According to tradition, tonight the dead will dance among us as the veil between life and death is thinned and wavers. I look forward to it, finding comfort in the idea that I have loved ones who might take advantage of this mystery to look in on me.

Day of the Dead is an intimate family tradition — one I was introduced to in high school in Southern California and felt an instant connection to. What could be lovelier than honoring those who left before us, taking a moment to remember and them, and allow them back into our homes, even just for an evening.

Some find the traditional iconography macabre. Sugar skulls, skeletons, and the like aren’t everyone’s taste (gasp!). It will come as no surprise that we hear at Taboo and Co. do not share those sentiments, and rather find skulls and skeletons to be graceful and beautiful reminders of mortality. Memento Mori, if you will.

This evening I invite you to take a few minutes to remember those you have lost, and believe in their ability to cross the threshold for a few minutes this special night. You never know … and it can’t hurt to try.