• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Building Faith

Building Faith

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Who We Are
    • Our Writers
    • Author Guidelines
    • FAQs
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
  • ARTICLES
    • Articles by Topic
    • Most Recent Articles
  • EN ESPAÑOL
  • RESOURCES
    • Curriculum Center
    • Vacation Bible School
    • Webinars
    • Episcopal Teacher
    • Signs of Life
    • Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John
    • 5 Marks of Love
    • Growing a Rule of Life
    • It’s Time To…
  • SUPPORT US
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Home/Saints & Holidays/The Day of the Dead
small calacas skeletons for day of the dead

The Day of the Dead

“In some locations, celebrants wear shells on their clothing, so that when they dance, the noise will wake up the dead.”

 

 

 

Day of the Dead
Día de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday that takes place on November 1st & 2nd coinciding with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends who pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is also celebrated in the United States, especially Texas and California, where it is a cultural day of religious significance.

The origins of this modern Mexican holiday have been traced to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years to an Aztec festival dedicated to a goddess called Mictecacihuatl.

Some families build altars or small shrines in their homes; these usually have the Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, scores of candles and an ofrenda (offering). Other decorations include using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting the graves with these gifts. Traditionally, families spend some time around the altar, praying and telling anecdotes about he deceased. In some locations, celebrants wear shells on their clothing, so that when they dance, the noise will wake up the dead.

Making Calacas (skeletons)!
A common symbol of the holiday is a skull (colloquially called calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas (colloquial term for “skeleton”), and foods such as sugar or chocolate skulls, which are inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead. Calacas are basically skeletons having a blast in the afterlife! They are used as decoration and also to spoof on popular celebrities and politicians by creating calacas in their image. The tradition is to dress them up in colorful clothes and have them appear to be dancing, playing a musical instrument, eating, and just plain having fun.

Recipe to make dough for 25 calacas 3″ to 3 1/2″ tall

  • large mixing bowl
  • heavy spoon
  • 4 cups plain white flour
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/4 cup of salt
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well mixed.
  2. Place mixture on waxed paper and knead until smooth.
  3. Store mixture in sealed plastic bags until needed.
  4. Provide waxed paper to protect table surfaces. Have black markers or tempera paint for adding features to the dried sculpture.
  5. Give each child a handful of dough. Each should receive enough dough for them to shape a figure 3″ to 3 1/2″ tall.
  6. Explain how to roll and shape the dough into a likeness of a human body. (Perhaps they should have someone in mind as they shape the sculptures to coincide with the story about the use of calacas during the Day of the Dead.)
  7. Allow the figurines to dry overnight.
  8. Once dried, skeletal features can be then drawn on the figures.

Sugar skulls can also be made and are gifts that can be given to both the living and the dead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto, a sweet egg bread made in various shapes from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits, often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.

 


This post and recipe is used with permission from Growing Together: Secular Celebrations for Fall & Winter (volume 3), which includes many more ideas, activities, and prayers for Halloween and All Saints Day.

Sharon Ely Pearson is a 30+ year Christian formation veteran, currently serving as an editor and the Christian Formation Specialist for Church Publishing Incorporated. Wife, mother, grandmother, and author, she enjoys connecting people with each other and the resources they need for growing in the knowledge and love of Jesus.

Did you enjoy this article? Consider subscribing to Building Faith and get every new post by email. It’s free and always will be. Subscribe to Building Faith.

 

About the Author

  • Sharon Ely Pearson

    Sharon Ely Pearson recently retired as Editor & Christian Formation Specialist with Church Publishing Incorporated (CPI) with 35+ years of experience in Christian formation on the local, judicatory, and church-wide level. Known for her knowledge of the variety of published curricula across the Church, she has also had her hand in the birthing of numerous books, including the best-seller, Call on Me: A Prayer Book for Young People and the 6-book series of Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God. A graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary (2003) and a lifelong Episcopalian, she lives in Norwalk, Connecticut with her husband John, a 17.5 lb. cat named Shadow, and Chobe, a 7-year-old, tennis-ball-fetching, rescue black lab. They have two adult children (both teachers) and a 5-year-old granddaughter who is a budding environmental activist. Follow her at www.rowsofsharon.com.

    View all posts
Print PDF

October 16, 2011 By Sharon Ely Pearson

Filed Under: Saints & Holidays Tagged With: All Saints Day, Day of the Dead

About Sharon Ely Pearson

Sharon Ely Pearson recently retired as Editor & Christian Formation Specialist with Church Publishing Incorporated (CPI) with 35+ years of experience in Christian formation on the local, judicatory, and church-wide level. Known for her knowledge of the variety of published curricula across the Church, she has also had her hand in the birthing of numerous books, including the best-seller, Call on Me: A Prayer Book for Young People and the 6-book series of Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God. A graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary (2003) and a lifelong Episcopalian, she lives in Norwalk, Connecticut with her husband John, a 17.5 lb. cat named Shadow, and Chobe, a 7-year-old, tennis-ball-fetching, rescue black lab. They have two adult children (both teachers) and a 5-year-old granddaughter who is a budding environmental activist. Follow her at www.rowsofsharon.com.

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS

Subscribe to Building Faith

You’ll get new articles, plus free weekly updates in your inbox.

We respect your privacy. View our privacy policy here.

Search Our Site

New Articles

Close-up of a glass jar with a view from its mouth lying sideways on a tan-colored floor with numerous coins inside the jar and in front of it

Building Faith’s Favorite Free Christian Formation Resources

Christian formation does not have to be costly. Yet finding formation resources that are …

Continue Reading about Building Faith’s Favorite Free Christian Formation Resources

Skyward view of a tree with brown bark, branches spreading in all directions, and green leaves

“Faith in an Exhausted World”: Forma Conference 2025 Plenary Recording

This year’s Forma Annual Conference took place January 27–30, 2025. Our theme, "Come Away Together …

Continue Reading about “Faith in an Exhausted World”: Forma Conference 2025 Plenary Recording

Wooden dark brown cross on a light brown surface in a spotlight

Stations of the Cross and Seven Last Words Resources for All Ages

Two common liturgical traditions that churches of various denominations practice in Lent and Holy …

Continue Reading about Stations of the Cross and Seven Last Words Resources for All Ages

Footer

Keep in Touch

  • Email
  • Facebook

Building Faith

Lifelong Learning, Virginia Theological Seminary
3737 Seminary Rd.
Alexandria, VA 22304

Copyright © 2025 · Building Faith · A Ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary

Design by Blue+Pine Creative, Inc.

Subscribe to Building Faith

Get articles and resources by email

Privacy Policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.
If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.

OkPrivacy policy