Day of the Dead ~ Día de Muertos ~ Sugar Skulls Cookies

 

Day of the Dead ~ Día de Muertos/Día de los Muertos is celebrated from November 1st to November 2nd and is associated with Allhallowtide - All Hallow's Eve, All Saints Day and All Soul's Day. Day of the Dead originates in Mexico, where it is observed and mostly celebrated by people of Mexican heritage, however it is also observed in other countries and cities throughout the world such as the Philippines, Guatemala, Peru, Costa Rica, Brazil, Australia and America to name a few.  

The day is for family and friends to gather and pay their respects and remembrance to those friends and family who have died. November 1st, traditionally is the day to honour deceased children with November 2nd, traditionally honouring deceased adults. Some traditions of honouring the deceased are with Calavera, a word that means skull in Spanish, and marigold flowers or creating a home altar with gifts and offerings and visiting graves leaving gifts and tokens of remembrance. 

Sugar skulls or Calaveras are a representation of the human skull. They are often edible but more often are not. They are made of sugar or clay and may be decorated with items such as icing, beads, nuts, chocolate, colourful foil and feathers and wood. They are an offering to be placed on altars for Day of the Dead and will usually have the deceased name written across the forehead of the skull. Small sugar skulls represent children who have died while a larger sugar skull represents adults who have died. These Sugar Skull cookies are my homage in honour of Day of the Dead, edible and easy to make when using the Bakerlogy Day of the Dead Floral Skull cookie cutter and the recipe for a vanilla sugar cookie posted on their website.   

Calaveras have been produced and used since the 1630's and have origins in Aztec, Mayan and Toltec culture. Jose Guadalupe Posada became famous for his depiction of Calaveras, with the most famous one being, Catrina. Catrina is considered to be the personification of the Day of the Dead itself, with her feathered hat, long flowing dress and fancy heeled shoes, she has become an unmistakable icon in both Day of the Dead and Mexican Folk Art.