 Hiya Everyone! Spring is here! I think... it is Tennessee, after all! I have put together a little information about the traditions of the Day of the Dead.. Pretty interesting! Stop in and see the sugar skulls that we have in stock... just a few, but they are fun! A lot of people love the skulls - fancy sugar and just plain bone. I don't love the bone ones, but they don't creep me out. Sugar skulls are a way to celebrate the memory of our past ancestors. I think that is pretty cool. The Day of the Dead holiday is celebrated right around the All Hallows Eve or Samhain on the calendar. It's kinda like the Memorial Day that is celebrated in America in late spring.  HOLIDAY: Dia de los Muertos Type Cultural Synthetic Christian Significance Pray for and remember friends and family members who have died Celebrations Workmanship of altars of the dead and traditional day of the dead's food Begins October 31 Ends November 2  Dia de los Muertos is a traditional Meso-American holiday dedicated to the ancestors; it honors both death and the cycle of life. In Mexico, neighbors gather in local cemeteries to share food, music, and fun with their extended community, both living and departed. The celebration acknowledges that we still have a relationship with our ancestors and loved ones that have passed away. On October 31, All Hallows Eve, the children make a children's altar to invite the angelitos (spirits of dead children) to come back for a visit. November 1 is All Saints Day, and the adult spirits will come to visit. November 2 is All Souls Day, when families go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of their relatives. The three-day fiesta filled with marigolds, the flowers of the dead; muertos (the bread of the dead); sugar skulls; cardboard skeletons; tissue paper decorations; fruit and nuts; incense, and other traditional foods and decorations.  Did you know... I just found out why the skulls were made of sugar... ...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. and when I googled hand-made sugar skulls... not a single "sugar" sugar skull came up... hmmm... Just a few fun factoids to think about... it's not just about morbid skulls... bring some bling, color and remembrance to the party!
xo Patsy Patricia
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Patsy Patricia:I like to put things together... parties, events, retreats... Road TRIPS!! Archives
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