Marigolds play an important role in Day of the Dead preparations and celebrations. Known as Cempasúchil- a Nahuatl word meaning ’20 flowers’- marigolds are a beautiful orange gold color. In Oaxaca there is a story that explains the integral part the flowers have in the celebrations. According to legend, the Zapotec bat god, Piquete Ziña, saw the marigold and fell so in love with it that he took it down to the underworld with him and dipped it in the river there so that it would always carry the scent of the underworld on it. Now the color and scent of the flower are believed to attract the souls of the deceased and guide them back to this world during Day of the Dead. In fact, the flower is so synonymous with the celebrations that it is sometimes referred to as ‘Flor de Muerto’, flower of the dead.