I have memories from growing up about a different kind of “Calaveritas” or “Little Skulls.” The “Calaverita Literarias” or “Literary Little Skulls.”Ĭalaveritas Literarias are written compositions that rhyme like a poem. I believe that sugar skulls are more common in Central Mexico. But it is very common to find them in the markets and candy stores. In my family sugar skulls were never a required or important piece to have on the altar as much as water and candles have been. My Experience with Sugar Skulls as a Mexican These are made for consumption, and are wrapped before sale for hygienic reasons. However, some sugar skulls are actually made out of amaranth or chocolate, much like the chocolate Easter bunnies many people are used to. This type of sugar skull is usually not individually wrapped, and tend to be handled by many people. While most of the ingredients used to make them are indeed edible, I wouldn’t eat them. Sugar skulls made from alfeñique are generally for decoration and not for consumption. If you receive one as a gift from a local, it means that person values your friendship and would even have a place for you on their altar one day if anything were to happen to you. You can also purchase one for a friend to show them that you care about them. This is so you can purchase one as dedication to a loved one who has passed on their altar.

Around Day of the Dead, you can find sugar skulls being sold with different names written on them. The biggest misconception surrounding sugar skulls has to do with receiving one as a gift.

What are the most common misconceptions about sugar skulls? Molding a skull out of sugar rather than any other material makes for an economic bone-like offering for the dead during the tradition. Sugar cane grows well in much of Mexico, and the sugar is easy to work with. The kind of caramel produced from this technique of processing sugar is called alfeñique and it has been used for centuries in Mexico to make candy and other decorations like the sugar skulls we can find during the Day of the Dead because it is both affordable and readily available. This is a technique they learned from the Arabs. Sugar production was brought to Mexico by the Spanish and they taught us a technique to work sugar into caramel. Under pressure from the Spanish to change the holiday and no longer use real bones, sugar was an easy choice as an alternative. Why are the skulls traditionally made with sugar? Other people like to gift sugar skulls with the name of the person their giving the sugar skull to simply as a way of showing that they have a special place in their lives, and also to show that when the day of their passing comes, they will have a special place on their altar they make at home. Some people get the ones with names to put them on their altar dedicated to a friend or family member with that name who has passed away. There is no real significance to any particular design of the sugar skulls aside from what any individual maker gives it, but it's common to find sugar skulls with names on them. You'll find sugar skulls with a variety of colors and designs, and even skulls made out of amaranth or chocolate. Sugar skulls are decorated to fit in with the rest of the celebration: they're vibrant and brightly colored like the cempasúchil marigold flowers used during the celebration. What are the most used symbols on the skulls and what do they While the Spanish were never able to completely dissolve the tradition, they did influence it by moving both the date Day of the Dead was celebrated to coincide with All Saints Day, and push to “modernize” the holiday by replacing the real skulls with sugar skulls.

The Spanish saw this as barbaric and tried to put an end to the practice of using human remains in this way. This was used for the public display of human skulls, typically those of war captives or other sacrificial victims. Several Mesoamerican civilizations including the Aztecs and Mexicas were known for constructing something called a tzompantli or Skull Rack. Before the Spanish arrived at what is now known as Mexico, the prehispanic version of Day of the Dead used real bones and skulls on the altar to celebrate and remember the deceased.Īn example of how indigenous cultures used human remains in other ways can been seen at the Templo Mayor in Mexico City’s Historic Center. In this case, it's a mix of indigenous cultures of Mexico and Catholicism brought in from the Spanish. What do sugar skulls represent in Dia de los Muertos? Where do they come from?ĭay of the Dead is a syncretic tradition, meaning that it is a celebration that is a mix of two cultures.

Colorful dia de los muertos skull