Calaveras Azucar & Pan de Muerto

Dia de los Muertos

Day of the Dead as celebrated in Mexico! Remembrance of loved ones & continuance of life.
This weekend I ate pan de muerto at a local eatery. It was served as part of the celebration Dia de los Muertos on November 1st, in the US: All Saints Day or All Souls Day. Relatives who have died are honored with displays of the departed favorite food and drinks, as well as ornamental sugar skulls & photos of the deceased. Flowers, particularly marigold & candles are placed on the graves, are supposed to guide the spirits home to their loved ones.
Other symbols include the elaborately-decorated pan de muerto a coffee cake decorated with meringues made to look like bones, skull-shaped candies and sweets, marzipan death figures and papier maché skeletons, female Catrina skeletons dressed in 19th century clothing and skulls. Here in Mexico they view skull as a symbol of life ~ not death. During this time, homes are often decorated in the same manner as the graves. FYI anyone in Austin Texas can visit Mexic~arte Museum & check out the displays & artwork they have this time of the year. I really think with the inclusion of our Halloween here in the northern part of Mexico they have turned the Halloween/Dia de los Muerte into a 3 day celebration!