Halloween - Day of the Dead Sugar Skull Mask
History of Day of the Dead ~ Dia de los Muertos
The Day of the Dead Sugar Skull Masks make a great idea for your Halloween Costume but I thought I would share with you the history behind these sugar skull masks
Day of the Dead is an interesting holiday
celebrated
in central and southern Mexico during the chilly
days of November 1 & 2. Even though this coincides with the
Catholic holiday called All Soul's & All Saint’s
Day, the
indigenous people have combined this with their own
ancient beliefs of honoring their deceased loved
ones.
They believe that the gates of heaven are opened at
midnight on October 31, and the spirits of all deceased
children (angelitos) are allowed to reunite with their families
for 24 hours. On November 2, the spirits of the adults
come down to enjoy the festivities that are prepared for them.
In most Indian villages, beautiful altars (ofrendas) are made
in each home. They are decorated with candles, buckets of
flowers (wild marigolds called cempasuchil & bright red
cock's combs) mounds of fruit, peanuts, plates of turkey mole,
stacks of tortillas and big Day-of-the-Dead breads called pan de muerto. The altar needs to have lots of food, bottles of soda,
hot cocoa and water for the weary spirits. Toys and
candies are left for the angelitos, and on Nov. 2,
cigarettes and shots of mezcal are offered to the
adult spirits. Little folk art skeletons and sugar skulls,
purchased at open-air markets, provide the final touches.
Day of the Dead is a very expensive holiday for these
self-sufficient, rural based, indigenous families. Many
spend over two month's income to honor their dead relatives. They
believe that happy spirits will provide protection, good luck
and wisdom to their families. Ofrenda building keeps the family close.
On the afternoon of Nov. 2, the festivities are taken to the
cemetery. People clean tombs, play cards, listen to the
village band and reminisce about their loved ones. Tradition
keeps the village close. Day of the Dead is becoming very
popular in the U.S.~ perhaps because we don't have a
way to celebrate and honor our dead, or maybe it's because
of our fascination with it's mysticism.
Sugar Skull Tradition
Sugar art was brought to the New World
by Italian missionaries in the 17th century. The first Church mention
of sugar art was from Palermo at Easter time when little sugar lambs and
angels were made to adorn the side altars in the Catholic Church.
Mexico, abundant in sugar production and
too poor to buy fancy imported European church decorations, learned
quickly from the friars how to make sugar art for their religious
festivals. Clay molded sugar figures of angels, sheep and sugar skulls
go back to the Colonial Period 18th century. Sugar skulls represented a
departed soul, had the name written on the forehead and was placed on
the home ofrenda or gravestone to honor the return of a particular
spirit. Sugar skull art reflects the folk art style of big happy
smiles, colorful icing and sparkly tin and glittery adornments. Sugar
skulls are labor intensive and made in very small batches in the homes
of sugar skull makers. These wonderful artisans are disappearing as
fabricated and imported candy skulls take their place.
Source: http://www.mexicansugarskull.com/support/dodhistory.html
