Dias de los Muertos

Nov. 1 and 2 celebrates Dias de los Muertos. The following is an excerpt from Carlos Miller's article in the Arizona Replublic newspaper:
"Today, people don wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are dedicated to the dead. Sugar skulls, made with the names of the dead person on the forehead, are eaten by a relative or friend, according to Mary J. Adrade, who has written three books on the ritual.
The Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during the ritual. The skulls were used to symbolize death and rebirth.
The skulls were used to honor the dead, whom the Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations believed came back to visit during the month long ritual."
I took a Michael deMeng workshop a couple of years ago and I celebrated myself in the after life as the Queen of Debris making assemblages from found objects. Yeah, the big head fits me. hehe.