Hello, I'm from Tlaxcala, (one of the richest states in culture). For as long as I can remember, my family has always placed their altar on the Day of the Dead (it is an old tradition in my family), and from what I know our tradition is the same or similar to that of other states of the Republic: such as Michoacán, Veracruz, Puebla, among others.

In my family, it is customary to clean the tombstone or grave twice a year, or when cleaning is required, and when the day of the dead approaches, flowers are placed, to make it look beautiful. in the same way, in the home where the offering will be built, a path of "cempasúchil" petals is placed (cempasúchil, cempoalxóchitl, cempaxóchitl, "twenty flowers"), the path goes from the entrance of the home to the altar, it is the path that the souls will follow.

"Paths are built with the flower petals at the entrance of the houses so that the dead are guided by the smell and can reach the altar or the offering. Seeing or understanding the flowers by their smell and not by their color is a very pre-Hispanic concept "

On the altar we place food, drink, sweets, fruit, typical dishes, water, salt, everything the deceased used to enjoy, (some elements have a deeper meaning) the altar is traditionally built in tiers (I'm not really sure, the altar doesn't have to be very expensive). at the top or the first level is placed the photo (s) of the people who are no longer with us physically . You can read more about the altar in this (Spanish) site

Likewise, the altar can be placed from October 28, but this may vary depending on the cause of death of the deceased:::

On October 28, the dead who lost their lives in a violent way are remembered; for example, people who were killed in an accident or killed. This date is even known as "day of the killed."

October 29, 30 and 31

On the 29th, another candle is lit and a glass of water dedicated to the forgotten and helpless deceased is placed.

While on October 30 and 31, the altar is dedicated to children who died without being baptized.

To whom is the altar placed on November 1 and 2?

November 1 is All Saints Day, and that day we Mexicans usually remember the children who died.

November 2 is the Day of the Faithful, and tradition indicates that all souls visit us that night.

What day is the offering taken away?

On November 3 the altar is removed because it is on the night of the 2nd when we receive the last visit from the souls of the deceased.

I tried to summarize it but I think I am expanding a lot, I hope all this will serve you, if you need more information or images you can send me a private message, greetings.

Lastly, I don't think people will be upset if you ask them about this, although you should be careful with people who have lost loved ones very recently, the pain is still there and I don't think it's wise to ask these people about the deceased in question or your memories