Calaveras

Day of the dead (or Día de los Muertos) is a holiday celebrated primarily in Mexico. Several countries pay respect to their dead loved ones on November the 1st and 2nd, but no one does it quite like Mexico.

Mexico's Day of the Dead is unique because it is a fusion of the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, Aztec traditions (their "Day" of the Dead was a whole month long!) and modern elements. In places in Mexico where Aztec traditions are still strong, Day of the Dead festivities and celebrations are much more interesting!

The primary purpose of this holiday is to remember family and friends who have died. On November 2, families and communities get together to clean graveyards, decorate them with flowers and candles, play music, tell stories about their loved ones, and eat.

"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."

Some people wrongly believe that Day of the Dead is Mexican Halloween. Both Day of the Dead and Halloween have connections to All Souls' and All Saints' Day, and both have skeletons and skulls, but that's where the commonalities end.

Halloween is all about the dressing up, scaring people, parties and candy. Halloween's symbols (jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, monsters, witches, ghosts) are often gruesome (bloody and gross) and scary.

Day of the Dead never uses scary figures, blood, guts, monsters or jack-o-lanterns. No one asks for candy on this holiday. Traditionally, parties and dressing up did not play a part.

In the 2000s, it is more common to see younger Mexicans, especially those living in the city, mix Halloween and Day of the Dead elements together. They sometimes have parades and dress up as calaveras or calacas (sugar skulls and skeletons). However, their skeletons are colorful and smiling and dressed like living people.

The calavera became popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s thanks to the art of José Guadalupe Posada. He created many prints of skeletons in scenes, poking fun at religion, politics, entertainment and death.

We call the calavera a sugar skull because people use skull shaped molds and a recipe of mostly sugar to create 3D skulls. Some can be eaten, but many cannot because they are decorated with icing, feathers, foil and sequins. La Catrina is a specific skeleton character used in Day of the Dead that a lot of people copy the style of.

Calaveras have rounded teeth, smiling or whimsical mouths, upside down hearts for noses, flowers in the eye sockets, and decoration such as flowers, swirls and crosses on the cheeks, chin and forehead. They use bright colors. You won't see demonic symbols, flames, knives or weapons or large quantities of red and black on a sugar skull.