Each sugar skull represents a departed loved one and is usually placed on an altar — an ofrenda — or even a gravestone as an offering to the spirit of the dead.

Traditional sugar skulls are often used in altars, or ofrendas, set up for Day of the Dead, a tradition in Mexico celebrated on Nov. 2.

MexicanSugarSkull.com notes that sugar skulls are commonly decorated with sequins, colored foils, feathers, beads and glitter. More: Sugar skulls are the ultimate Day of the Dead symbol.

Foods such as sugar skulls, sweetbread rolls and drinks are placed alongside clay decorations and personal items on ofrendas, or home altars, to memorialize those who have died.

They were later replaced with skulls made from sugar, amaranth and chocolate. Papel picado or decorated tissue paper — Brings color to the ofrenda and is also said to represent wind, air and the ...

The sugar skulls, which come in a variety of sizes, are decorated in shapes, lines and flowers made from vibrantly colored icing. Skulls placed on ofrendas or tombstones often have the names of loved ...

Sugar skulls placed on an ofrenda aren’t an all-you-can-eat candy display, but a traditional object that would be disrespectful to remove from the altar and eat.

Calaveras, or skulls, adorn altars and grave sites throughout Mexico and increasingly in the U.S. during the festive Dia de los Muertos. When: 10 a.m. to noon or 1:30 - 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct ...

Sugar skulls, ofrendas and monarch butterflies mark the arrival of Dia de los Muertos, or the "Day of the Dead," an important holiday in Hispanic culture. Puebloans will be celebrating the holiday ...

Foods such as sugar skulls, sweetbread rolls and drinks are placed alongside clay decorations and personal items on ofrendas, or home altars, to memorialize those who have died.

Well, now there's no more excuses. For Day of the Dead, which is on Nov. 1 and 2, if you plan on making an altar for a lost loved one -- a sugar skull piñata is another great ofrenda (offering ...

Casa de Rosado is also celebrating Dia de los Muertos at the Michigan History Museum with a three-day event on Nov. 1-3 featuring various, elaborate ofrendas, a sugar skull decorating contest with ...