Why Are Sugar Skulls Used for Day of the Dead?

Sugar skulls or Calaveritas de Azúcar, are a colorful and often misunderstood part of the Day of the Dead tradition. What do they represent? Where do they come from? What does it mean if someone gives you one with your name on it? Find out more in this article.

I was born and raised in Mexico, so I have celebrated Día de Muertos my whole life. Sugar skulls are an icon of Day of the Dead, but it’s important to note that you won’t find sugar skulls all over Mexico for the celebration. They are more present in Central Mexico and in other parts of the country such as Michoacan.

What do sugar skulls represent in Dia de los Muertos? Where do they come from?

Day of the Dead is a syncretic tradition, meaning that it is a celebration that is a mix of two cultures. In this case, it’s a mix of indigenous cultures of Mexico and Catholicism brought in from the Spanish. Before the Spanish arrived at what is now known as Mexico, the prehispanic version of Day of the Dead used real bones and skulls on the altar to celebrate and remember the deceased.

An example of how indigenous cultures used human remains in other ways can been seen at the Templo Mayor in Mexico City’s Historic Center. Several Mesoamerican civilizations including the Aztecs and Mexicas were known for constructing something called a tzompantli or Skull Rack. This was used for the public display of human skulls, typically those of war captives or other sacrificial victims.

The Spanish saw this as barbaric and tried to put an end to the practice of using human remains in this way. While the Spanish were never able to completely dissolve the tradition, they did influence it by moving both the date Day of the Dead was celebrated to coincide with All Saints Day, and push to “modernize” the holiday by replacing the real skulls with sugar skulls.

Day of the Dead in Michoacan, Mexico. In this video, we’ll take you to the historic city of Morelia, Pátzcuaro, the island of Janitzio and the Pueblo Magico of Tzintzuntzan to experience one of Mexico’s biggest celebrations. Learn from the locals what an “Altar de Muerto” or “Ofrenda” is, and what makes up an altar dedicated to honor a deceased person.

What are the most used symbols on the skulls and what do they
mean?

Sugar skulls are decorated to fit in with the rest of the celebration: they’re vibrant and brightly colored like the cempasúchil marigold flowers used during the celebration. You’ll find sugar skulls with a variety of colors and designs, and even skulls made out of amaranth or chocolate.

There is no real significance to any particular design of the sugar skulls aside from what any individual maker gives it, but it’s common to find sugar skulls with names on them. Some people get the ones with names to put them on their altar dedicated to a friend or family member with that name who has passed away.

Other people like to gift sugar skulls with the name of the person their giving the sugar skull to simply as a way of showing that they have a special place in their lives, and also to show that when the day of their passing comes, they will have a special place on their altar they make at home.

Why are the skulls traditionally made with sugar?

Under pressure from the Spanish to change the holiday and no longer use real bones, sugar was an easy choice as an alternative.

Sugar production was brought to Mexico by the Spanish and they taught us a technique to work sugar into caramel. This is a technique they learned from the Arabs. The kind of caramel produced from this technique of processing sugar is called alfeñique and it has been used for centuries in Mexico to make candy and other decorations like the sugar skulls we can find during the Day of the Dead because it is both affordable and readily available.

Sugar cane grows well in much of Mexico, and the sugar is easy to work with. Molding a skull out of sugar rather than any other material makes for an economic bone-like offering for the dead during the tradition.

What are the most common misconceptions about sugar skulls?

The biggest misconception surrounding sugar skulls has to do with receiving one as a gift. Around Day of the Dead, you can find sugar skulls being sold with different names written on them. This is so you can purchase one as dedication to a loved one who has passed on their altar. You can also purchase one for a friend to show them that you care about them.

If you receive one as a gift from a local, it means that person values your friendship and would even have a place for you on their altar one day if anything were to happen to you. It does not mean they wish you ill will.

Can you eat Sugar Skulls?

Sugar skulls made from alfeñique are generally for decoration and not for consumption. While most of the ingredients used to make them are indeed edible, I wouldn’t eat them. This type of sugar skull is usually not individually wrapped, and tend to be handled by many people.

However, some sugar skulls are actually made out of amaranth or chocolate, much like the chocolate Easter bunnies many people are used to. These are made for consumption, and are wrapped before sale for hygienic reasons.

My Experience with Sugar Skulls as a Mexican

In my family sugar skulls were never a required or important piece to have on the altar as much as water and candles have been. But it is very common to find them in the markets and candy stores. I believe that sugar skulls are more common in Central Mexico.

I have memories from growing up about a different kind of “Calaveritas” or “Little Skulls.” The “Calaverita Literarias” or “Literary Little Skulls.”

Calaveritas Literarias are written compositions that rhyme like a poem. They are usually funny and are written for a living or deceased person about their life and death.

Schools usually have contests where students submit their “calaveritas” about their teacher, or the school principal, a classmate, or any other person in the school. It’s a fun way of teaching creative writing and I think a big reason why we in Mexico see death as something so natural and non-taboo. We’ve celebrated it since we were born and we’ve written about it since we were able to write.

Learn more about Mexican sugar skulls and their origins in our Spanish podcast:

Learn about the origins of Day of the Dead in episode 28 of the Learn Spanish and Go podcast (in Spanish) or in our video “What is Day of the Dead?” (in English) here: