Sugar Skulls and The Day of the Dead

In Mexico, El Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, finds people honoring and remembering their dead in their own special ways. Sugar skulls play a large part in the ceremonial nature of this holiday.

Mexicans found that they could use a crop that grows easily in their country to make decorations. Rather than buy expensive decorations that many of them could not afford, they started the practice of making sugar skulls. These not only provide ornamentation, but serve as tasty treats as well. These skulls represented departed loved ones. These 'calaveras de azucar' or sugar skulls sit on altars and provide decoration opportunities for children and adults alike. Blank sugar skulls await colorful additions of frosting.

Sugar skulls, then, play a very important role in the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico. From the evening of October 31 through November 2, these symbols bedeck altars and provide solace and remembrance for participants in this ritual.