31 Days of Halloween - Dia de los Muertos Decor

 

Although Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead doesn't come until after Halloween, here in the USA many people merge the two holidays together when it comes to decorating. Halloween is all about the costumes, candy, scary movies and decorations. 

Dia de los Muertos is all about honoring those in your family who have died. On this day, people often go to the cemetery and spruce up the gravesite, bringing food, candles, crosses and personal possessions. "According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31 and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours. The spirits of adults can do the same on November 2." (-History.com) 

The sugar skull is often a candy offered for sale. Now you see sugar skull mugs, stickers, decor and costumes in stores here. I decided to create something for Dia de los Muertos since we tie it into Halloween. The wooden block I had painted purple made an excellent base for my sugar skull sticker. I had one remaining piece of purple trim that I attached to the top, adding tiny, colorful skull beads left over from a craft workshop I had facilitated before COVID.

Since the holiday is all about offerings and gatherings, I added flowers and a skull on top of my wood base. I love how colorful this holiday is. If you want to know more about this Mexican holiday, click on the link above. Or you can check out the Disney/Pixar movie Coco, where you can get a real feel for the importance of  remembering and honoring family. Here's a short YouTube video you can watch.

Now for some gruesome giggles...