Some background information for those not already Day of the Dead enthusiasts.
An ancient Aztec celebration in memory of deceased ancestors, Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1 (All Saints' Day) and November 2 (All Souls' Day). The holiday is especially popular in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and to a lesser extent in other Latin American countries and in some parts of the United States.
Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead joyfully, and with an emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, and the continuation of life. The belief is not that death is the end, but rather the beginning of a new stage in life.
Plans for the festival are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the period of October 31 and November 2, families usually clean and decorate the graves. Most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas, or offerings, which often include orange marigold called Flor de Muerto, or zempoalxochitl, Nahuatl for "twenty-flower.” Toys are brought for dead children (los angelitos, or little angels), and bottles of tequila for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Ofrendas (altars) are also put in homes
Altars are decorated with cempazúchil flowers, images of saints, candles, traditional foods and things that once belonged to the deceased to honor and please the spirits. What the spirits consume is steam from the food. They do not digest it physically; they extract the goodness from what is provided. After the spirits leave, the living visit each other in their homes and exchange the prepared food. Images of favorite saints are frequently placed on the altar to elicit special divine protection for loved ones. A towel, soap and mirror are also seen on the altars for the spirits to freshen up before feasting on their favorite foods.
The colors of the various items on the altar have the following meaning:
Purple: signifies pain, suffering, grief, and mourning.
Pink: celebration
White: purity and hope
Orange: sun
Red: the blood of life
Yellow: cempazuchitl are marigolds that symbolize death. Petals are used to make a trail so that the spirits can see the path to their altars.
"Calaveras" – short poems mocking epitaphs of friends, sometimes with things they used to do in life originated in the 18th-19th century, after a newspaper published a poem narrating a dream of a cemetery in the future.”
A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (calavera), which is represented in masks, called calacas (colloquial term for "skeleton"), and foods such as sugar skulls, which are inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead. Sugar skulls are gifts that can be given to both the living and the dead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto (or "bread of the dead"), a sweet egg bread made in various shapes, from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.
More information about Dia de los Muertos
Azcentral.com
Day of the Dead
Mexonline
For the month of October, “take a break” will feature various activities pertaining to Dia de los Muertos. This week’s break is to learn more about Day of the Dead and to make sugar skulls and Papel Picado (paper cuts).
If you are interested in making sugar skulls, you will need a mold. You can purchase these on-line from Mexican Sugar Skull. They include recipes for the skulls and the icing. If this is something you’d like to try, order your molds now.
I have several different types and I use them for other purposes including molded chocolates. Clay, particularly the type that air dries, can be pressed into the molds. I’ve used the Crayola clay, which dries light enough to make pins. I’ve also filled my molds with plaster. They easily pop out and can then be decorated with paints, glitter etc. If I’m having a Day of the Dead party, I will set up a table so people can paint and decorate their plaster skulls to remember someone special to them. These can be added to the altar. I use watercolor paints with a final coating of acrylic.
According to Mexican Sugar Skull, The technique of hand cut paper is traced to the 18th century when paper was imported to Mexico from China... thus the Spanish word "papel china" remains the word for tissue paper! Paper cut artisans, commissioned by the Church, would make thousands of strings of papel picados for religious festivals where they hung in church plazas and decorated the streets.
While you can buy Papal Picado, it’s very easy and fun to make it yourself. Once you know the technique, you can make them for all sorts of occasions.
Artists in Mexico lay a stencil on top of a stack of tissue paper and cut out the shapes using a special chisel and hammer. You can get the same effect by stacking a few sheets of tissue paper, attaching a stencil with pins or paper clips, and carefully cutting with a pair of scissors. An Exacto knife would work, but I’ve never been very good at using them so I tend to recommend scissors. Leave space at the top of your paper so you will be able to attach a string.
I save tissue paper all year long for papel picado and flowers for this holiday. While it’s easy enough to get from the store, I like the idea that the tissue paper items that adorn my altar for Day of the Dead are not only recycling, but a reminder of what was wrapped in the paper and who the person was that gave it to me. It does get a little old for my family though when they are opening presents and I’m telling them to be careful and “save the paper!”
For the stencil, make your own, keeping in mind the importance of positive/negative images. You can also check out some of the links below for ideas. Keep in mind that some are cut on the fold. Pumpkin carving, snowflake and stencil patterns also work well. A friend from El Salvador folds the paper back and forth, like you would for an accordion fan, and just cuts shapes. They look great.
If you are using a stencil, particularly if it’s one you think you’ll want to use again, make a copy on scrap paper, and use this as the pattern you’ll be cutting.
Once you have the paper cut, lay it out on a large surface. Across the tops, use a glue stick or white glue, and place string, and then fold a flap over to keep the string in place. Let dry and then hang.
I like my paper cuts so much, I leave them up through most of November. Sometimes I replace them with Christmas Papel Picado and I have a variety that I make for February (Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras). Living in snowy Northern New England, the bright colored tissue paper brings a cheery note to some of our very cold and gray days.
Pattern Links
Papel Picado Patterns
More Patterns
Other Dia de los Muertos Activities
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