What is Dia De Los Muertos?
  • Dia De Los Muertos is a holiday celebrating loved ones who have passed away.
  • 'Dia De Los Muertos' Translates in English to 'Day of the Dead'
  • It is believed that the passageway from our world to our passed loved ones opens during this 2-day celebration, so they can celebrate with their family.
  • Family members prepare for several weeks in advance for the tradition by creating altars, decorating burial sites, and cooking specific Day of the Dead food.
  • To decorate alters, family members collect marigold flowers, favorite foods of past loved ones, make paper sculptures called Papel Picado and decorate and present Sugar Skulls.​
  • Disney's 'Coco' is a fun and colorful movie that also discusses this topic. 
What are Sugar Skulls?
  • During Dia de Los Muertos, small decorated sugar skulls are placed on the altars.
  • ​There is nothing scary about these skulls, as they are sweet and decorated with frosting and edible glitter
  • They are often painted as smiling and are covered in many vibrant colors  
  • Skulls are also worn as colorful makeup as each color represents something within Mexican culture​​
  • Yellow – Represents the sun and unity, because "under the sun, we’re all the same."
  • Pink – Pink signifies happiness.
  • Purple –Purple represents mourning, grief and suffering
  • Red – Represents blood and life.
What is Papel Picado?
  • Papel picado is a traditional Mexican folk art made from colorful tissue paper that has designs cut out of it
  • Artists string the individual papers together to make banners that are used for a number of holidays and festivals. 
  • ​For the Day of the Dead, banners with skeleton themes, like this one, are hung around the offering and often in public squares as well.  
*This project can get a little messy,  make sure to lay down a trash bag to catch any glue that has fallen. It is also recommended to have a parent nearby to help with any paper cutting. Make sure to check out our info page on Mexican Sugar Skulls, and check out our website for more!
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​What You'll Need:
  • Project Instruction Sheets
  • Construction Paper
  • Scissors
  • Craft Glue
1. Step One: Print out the blank Sugar Skull Template and trace it on whatever color paper you want your sugar skulls to be. Then cut out the skull.
2. Step Two: Then, pick a background color you want your composition to be on.
3. Step Three: Like a snowflake, fold the background paper as many times as you’d like. Cut out any pattern or design.
4. Step Four: Now, choose a piece of paper to place behind the cut out paper. Then, paste them together.
5. Step Five: From here, choose where to paste your skull and cut out any shapes to frame it. Then, decorate the skull.

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