Skullsy the Skull Candy is is owned by Callum and was released at the same time as 4 other rubber duck travel bugs (Nellie the Narwhal, Lobby the Lobster, Scotty McHaggis and DJ Poppy). We are in a competion to see whose travel bug and rubber duck can travel the furthest.

1. Lots of photgraphs of Skullsy the Skull Candy in caves, scarly places and with scary faces please.

2. I'd like Skullsy the Skull Candy and her ducky to go travel through lots of different countries to end up in Mexico at the Day of the Dead please.

3. If you can't take her to a scary place or abroad, then please move her as far as possible.

Thank you

Callum

Skull Candy or Candy Skulls 

History of Day of the Dead ~ Día de los Muertos

Day of the Dead is an interesting holiday celebrated in central and southern Mexico during the chilly days of 1st and 2nd November. 

They believe that the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on 31st October, and the spirits of all deceased children are allowed to reunite with their families for 24 hours. On 2nd November, the spirits of the adults come down to enjoy the festivities that are prepared for them.

In most Indian villages, beautiful altars are made in each home. They are decorated with candles, buckets of flowers mounds of fruit, peanuts, plates of turkey mole, stacks of tortillas and big Day of the Dead breads called pan demuerto. The altar needs to have lots of food, bottles of soda, hot cocoa and water for the weary spirits. Toys and candies are left for the children, and on 2nd November, cigarettes and shots of mezcal are offered to the adult spirits. Little folk art skeletons and candy skulls, purchased at open-air markets, provide the final touches.

Day of the Dead is a very expensive holiday for these self-sufficient, rural based, indigenous families. Many spend over two month’s income to honor their dead relatives. They believe that happy spirits will provide protection, good luck and wisdom to their families. Ofrenda building keeps the family close.

On the afternoon of 2nd November, the festivities are taken to the cemetery. People clean tombs, play cards, listen to the village band and reminisce about their loved ones. Tradition keeps the village close. 

Day of the Dead Celebrations are Diverse

In Mexico, the colorful, much anticipated, Day of the Dead celebrations are generally celebrated in the states from Mexico City south. This includes Michoacan, Mexico, Puebla, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Chiapas and the Yucatan. 

These molded sugar coffins are actually toys to delight the returning spirits of children on 1st November. Pull the string and a smiling calavera skeleton pops out of his coffin!

Chocolate sugar skulls are hand molded & decorated and sold by the thousands at the Sugar Skull Fair. Candy makers work for 4-6 months to have enough merchandise for the sale. Candy skulls are sometimes eaten, but their main function is to adorn the altars and tombs with a sugary delight for the visiting spirits! Miniature candy skulls are made for the baby children and are displayed on the home ofrendas on 1st Novembe, then replaced with full size skulls on 2nd November for the returning adult spirits!

Gigantic sugar skulls are made from 50 year old molds for the competition at the Feria de Alfinique in Metepec, Mexico. These sugar skull makers have been making artisanal sugar for generations.

The Sugar Skull Tradition

Sugar art was brought to the New World by Italian missionaries in the 17th century. The first Church mention of sugar art was from Palermo at Easter time when little sugar lambs and angels were made to adorn the side altars in the Catholic Church.

Mexico, abundant in sugar production and too poor to buy fancy imported European church decorations, learned quickly from the friars how to make sugar art for their religious festivals. Clay molded sugar figures of angels, sheep and sugar skulls go back to the Colonial Period 18th century. Sugar skulls represented a departed soul, had the name written on the forehead and was placed on the home ofrenda or gravestone to honor the return of a particular spirit. Sugar skull art reflects the folk art style of big happy smiles, colorful icing and sparkly tin and glittery adornments. Sugar skulls are labor intensive and made in very small batches in the homes of sugar skull makers. These wonderful artisans are disappearing as fabricated and imported candy skulls take their place.

There is nothing as beautiful as a big, fancy, unusual candyskull!