FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -- Although Halloween has already came and went, Friday marked the start of a related holiday: Día de los Muertos -- or Day of the Dead. Each year, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art (FWMoA) honors Day of the Dead by creating an exhibition that aims to be a "community celebration and exhibition of joyous remembrance." "It really has a lot to do with wanting to engage different groups in our community ... Day of the Dead has a strong artistic and kind of cultural object aspect," said Amanda Shepard, vice president and chief operating officer of the FWMoA. Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that traditionally runs from Nov. 1 to Nov. 2 where families honor deceased loved ones through various means. While the holiday does share some similarities with Halloween, Shepard said Day of the Dead is much more than a Halloween clone and has roots that can be traced back thousands of years. "They're not the same holiday, but they are related, and they have origins in very similar cultural expressions of acknowledging the reality of human life and then also this long-term belief in an afterlife that you find all around the world stretching back thousands of years," Shepard said. "For Day of the Dead, it really is a holiday that is related to thousands of years of indigenous cultures in South America, but also, in the 16th century when Spanish conquistadors brought Catholicism to the [continent], they merged the Catholic tradition of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day -- which is Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 -- with the indigenous [traditions] of honoring the dead." Spiritual, not spooky. After Halloween, Christians observe All Saints’ Day The FWMoA exhibition features altars called "ofrendas" that serve as a place to leave offerings for departed souls. Common items that are left at ofrendas include sugar skulls, candles and various mementos, according to the museum. An ofrenda on display at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art's annual Day of the Dead exhibition.An ofrenda on display dedicated to Tom and Cindy Henry at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art's annual Day of the Dead exhibition.An ofrenda on display dedicated to Tom and Cindy Henry at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art's annual Day of the Dead exhibition.An ofrenda on display at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art's annual Day of the Dead exhibition.An ofrenda on display at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art's annual Day of the Dead exhibition. The ofrendas on display at the museum have been created by local people and organizations, including the El Mexicano Newspaper and the Hispanic Leadership Coalition of Northeast Indiana. El Mexicano Newspaper is a bridge to the Latino community The exhibition also offers a community ofrenda where museum guests can write the name of a loved one who has passed away on a paper butterfly and attach it to the altar. Shepard hopes guests will experience an intimate connection with the altars and the people who made them while coming away with a newfound appreciation for the holiday. "You'll see photos of them. You'll see notes. There's a beautiful letter that someone wrote to her mother. There are personal effects of the loved one, so you get a chance to connect with people in your community who you may not know, and you connect with them on a very human level," Shepard said. The FWMoA opened the exhibit Oct. 12 and will have it available to guests until Dec. 1. The museum is also hosting a Day of the Dead family celebration Sunday, Nov. 3, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The event will feature the exhibit alongside traditional dancing, mariachi, a cash bar and a Mexican food truck.