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Activities Concerning Los Días de los Muertos
Food and Much Much More
Below you will find several activities centered around the Los Días de los Muertos celebration. In addition to the steps needed for the activity, you will also find a list of materials needed for the activity.
Calacas - Sugar Skulls
(as seen above)
Combine first 4 ingredients in 3 quart pan. Add 2 cups sugar and slowly heat mixture to about 110ºF. Add almond paste to mixture. Turn off heat and stir mixture until well blended. Remove from heat. Turn mixture onto board covered with remaining 4 cups of sugar. Knead sugar until dough is formed. Store dough in tightly sealed container in refrigerator over night. Sculpture dough into skull shapes. Detail figures with vegetable food dyes and toothpicks or icing. Recipe makes about 8 skulls the size of a golf ball.
Las Flores De Los Muertos
Starting at one end of an unfolded package of tissue paper, measure off strips 2 1/2 inches wide. Fold each strip into four equal parts. With paper folded, make 1/2 inch cuts starting at the top edge. Cuts should be 1/4 inches apart. Trim each petal by cutting an inverted diagonal V shape. Hold straight edge of a strip in one hand while gathering the petals with the other hand, wrapping around the pipe cleaner. Cut a strip of tape to place around the bottom of the petal to attach to the pipe cleaner. Continue to wrap downward around the length of the pipe cleaner. Fluff out the petals by bending them outward from the center.
El Pan De Los Muertos
Mix all of the dry ingredients together except for the flour. In a small pan, heat the milk, water and butter. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture. Beat well. Mix in the eggs and 1 1/2 cup of flour. Beat well. Put in the rest of the flour little by little. Knead the mixture on a floured board for 9-10 minutes. Put the dough in a greased bowl and let rise until it is doubled in size (approximately an hour to an hour and a half). Punch the dough down and reshape. Pull away a small amount of dough to make "bone" shapes to decorate the top of the bread. Bake at 350º for 40 minutes. After baking, sprinkle with sugar. Enjoy!!!
Papel Amate
Cut the paper bags to the desired size for the painting. Crumple the paper up and dip in water and saturate. Keep the paper crumpled. Squeeze out the excess water and set it aside to dry overnight. Flatten out the paper. Sketch drawing on the paper and then paint in bright colors.
El Arco De La Ofrenda
Arrange sheets of paper lengthwise in order of desired colors. Glue sheets together, overlapping ends 1/2 inch. Roll the tissue around the twigs and glue the open sides. Gently bunch and twist the tissue paper and tie with yarn or ribbon to each section of the arch. Shape and curve to the size of the altar and tape in place. Hang garlands of stringed flowers, vegetables, chiles, fruit etc.
Papel Picado
Fold a rectangular sheet of tissue paper in half. Using a pencil, sketch one half of a design on the folded side of the tissue paper. Use rulers to divide the paper into sections. Designs must touch and connect to the other areas of the paper in order to form the shapes of the paper. Shade in the areas to be cut away. With scissors or a craft knife, carefully cut away the shaded areas of the design. Open the paper carefully. For more complex designs, fold the paper several times. Once several banners are made, measure the yard or string to extend beyond the length of the banners. Fold over the top of the banner over the string and glue or tape. Use the banners to decorate the ofrenda.
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