The DEI Action Team is hosting a sugar skull painting class on October 27th at 3:00 pm in celebration of Día de Los Muertos. Participate by signing up here.

Join our hour-long painting session as guest instructor, Karina Matthews, shows us how to make and paint skulls. Karina will also share the meanings and history behind colors and adornment. 

Día de Los Muertos is celebrated from October 31st to November 2nd every year. The holiday marks a period of celebration and remembrance. During these three days, one symbol is present nearly everywhere you look: sugar skulls. This holiday was originally an Aztec ritual to commemorate the lives of the deceased.  

Calaveras de Azucar (sugar skulls) are made from a white sugar mixture shaped in a skull mold. The skulls are decorated with colorful designs and adornments, and the name of a deceased loved one is often written on the forehead. The skull represents the person who passed away, while the colors celebrate their life.  

The reason this holiday revolving around death is so full of color instead of being gloomy and gray is that it is a celebration of the lives led by those who are now gone. It’s not simply a day of mourning loved ones and telling their stories around tombstones and altars; it’s a day of remembering their lives and their impact on the living.