Sugar Skulls, Marigolds and Celebration Dia de los Muertos in Mexico!
Posted by Faten Abdallah at 10/30/2010 08:39:00 AM
Dia de los Muertos ~ Day of the Dead
With Halloween approaching and the princess crowns and devil horns at the ready, Little Passports wants to share Dia de Los Muertos with you and your family. Let's pack our bags and head south to
Halloween is celebrated on October 31st and Dia de los Muertos is only two days later on November 2nd. There may only be a few days between the two holidays but Dia de los Muertos has many unique traditions and customs that are sure to add fairy dust to your holiday!
Sugar Skulls and Marigolds
While many trick-or-treaters are still recovering from a sugar rush on November 2nd, Mexicans are preparing sugar skulls called calaveras de azúcar. These beautifully decorated confections are made for deceased loved ones who are said to visit earth on Dia de los Muertos. Families visit graves with calaveras de azúcar, special food, drinks and flowers to offer to their ancestors. Funny stories are told, poems are read and a celebration of life takes place! No altar is complete without Flor de Muertos (marigolds) that grow wild in many parts of the country. Mexicans carry on the tradition of the Aztecs by regarding marigolds as important flowers in medicine, culture and ceremonies. The whole idea behind Dia de los Muertos is to celebrate life instead of mourn death!
A Global Glance
Activities
1) Make Something Sweet!
Calaveras de azúcar are more than just sugar, they are art! Though some Mexicans make their own sugar skulls, similar to mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival, many buy them from the experts.
Improvising is a crucial tool to traveling with relative ease. So we will improvise sugar skulls! Bake something sweet and decorate it with bright frosting. Sam and Sofia are going to bake sugar cookies and use cookie cutters in the shape of a skull. Using food dye from Aunt Charlie, they are going to dye home-made frosting red, orange, blue and green to decorate the cookies. Get creative and have fun!
2) Dia de los Muertos Decorations!
The colorful shrines built and decorated by loved ones are a special Dia de los Muertos tradition to honor those who have passed away. Though it may seem that the holiday is about death, it really is about life! Let this inspire you to create a beautiful mini art piece out of a matchbox!
Supplies:
- Small empty matchbox
- Sand paper
- Water colors and/or markers
- Paper images
- Glue
- Scissors
- Small charms or flowers
Directions:
* Use the sandpaper to rough up the edges of the matchbox. This will help the paint or markers stick and it will give your box a rustic look.
* Pick your favorite colors and paint the box. Try using different colors for the inside and outside of the box to give it depth. Use markers to draw shapes and designs.
* Cut out cool pictures from magazines. Skulls are the main theme for Dia de los Muertos, but you can decorate your matchbox with whatever you want! Remember, marigolds are the traditional flowers!
* Use your glue to paste on pictures, charms and flowers.
Now you have your own little art piece to add to the color of Dia de los Muertos!
3) Map Activity
Can you find these countries on the map?
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4a) Bonus Questions
1) Many Spanish words are similar to English. Do you know any?
2) What countries and bodies of water border
3) Pan de muertos is often baked in preperation for Dia de los Muertos. Can you guess what "pan" is?
4) Do you know which civilization built
4b) Bonus Answers
1) Here are just a few: la música (music), el chocolate (chocolate), la celebración (celebration), la escuela (school)
2) Countries: USA (north), Guatemala and Belize (southeast)
Bodies of Water: Pacific Ocean (south and west), Gulf of Mexico (east), Caribbean Sea (southeast).
3) Bread
4) Mayan civilization
For inspiration and fun facts about your world join the conversation today on the Little Passports Facebook page.
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