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Skulls Are In the Air

As the leaves turn yellow and orange, we are notified of a time of the year the precedes many celebratory holidays, such as Halloween and the Day of the Dead. When we start to see sugar skulls and skeletons on our most popular body jewelry, we know this time is near.

We most notably celebrate Halloween here in the United States and we are certainly getting geared up to get dressed, show some ink and dress up our piercings,  we thought we’d get a little deeper and shed some spooky knowledge about the Day of the Dead. It just sounds like a bad@ss holiday, doesn’t it? Let’s find out together why this not only sounds cool but is such a meaningful and special tradition.

The Spirits

Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican tradition that is observed beginning on October 31st at midnight through November 2nd. It is believed that when the clock strike midnight on the evening that we observe as Halloween, the gateway from heaven to earth is opened for the spirits of young spirits and children’s spirits to visit earth to be reunited with their loved ones. On the second day, November 2nd, the spirits of adults can travel this portal to visit their loved ones.

You can see why this Mexican holiday takes hold in the United States. In conjunction with Halloween, it offers those of us who wish to be visited by our beloved deceased ones an opportunity to gather together in intention and celebration.

The People

The 1st and 2nd days of November for those eagerly awaiting the visits from their deceased ones is one of preparation and anticipation. Altars are prepared with bright orange and yellow flowers, often marigolds and blood red cock’s combs. Each family prepared their own dedicated altar for this special visit from the afterlife. Food and desserts are also prepared for this holiday as it is believed that spirits may have to travel from afar and need replenishment. Cigarettes and alcohol are also prepared and left ready at the altar for their adult spirit visitors. (Hey, adult spirits need to have fun too…) This altar is also decorated with skeletons and sugar skulls, a reminder and celebration of the spirits of the deceased.

The Day of the Dead is not taken lightly. For some families, preparations begin months in advance and the amount of finances and other resources gathered for this can amount to be quite a bit. Understandably so, as if you have a dear missed deceased one, hardly anything can compare to how much they are missed.  

Take it to the Grave

On November 2nd, in the afternoon, which would be the last day to be reunited with the spirits, the festivities are taken to the grave, literally. Families move their celebration to the cemetery where their loved ones are buried. Tombstones are cleaned and the areas are tended to as local bands play into the evening as the celebration of their loved one’s spirits are honored. Through storytelling and reminiscing, the Day of the Dead tapers off the loving memories of loved past and gone.

In the United States we often denote spirits as “scary” or “haunting” and we really don’t have a day or holiday dedicated to honoring those that have passed on to the afterlife. We often perceive skulls and skeletons as something frightening, when in Mexico, skulls are painted with beautiful patterns and colors to celebrate the dead.

We too can celebrate the passing of our loved ones and honor their journey, remembering them fondly and to ease the pain of how much we miss them by celebrating as the Day of the Dead does. After all, we are all made of skulls and bones, it is the very basic foundation of our bodies that hold our spirits. We can totally see the beauty in sugar skulls and love that we are seeing them on ear plugs and other pieces of body jewelry. Try rocking out any one from our suggested idea book below to celebrate life, not death. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Idea Book to Celebrate Dia de los Muertos” i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-heart” color=”blue” add_icon=”true”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”4640″ img_size=”” alignment=”center”][vc_btn title=”SHOP NOW” shape=”square” color=”primary” align=”center” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bodyjewelry.com%2Fpsa43.html||target:%20_blank”][vc_single_image image=”4645″ img_size=”” alignment=”center”][vc_btn title=”SHOP NOW” shape=”square” color=”primary” align=”center” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bodyjewelry.com%2Fseptbsf011.html||target:%20_blank”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”4643″ img_size=”” alignment=”center”][vc_btn title=”SHOP NOW” shape=”square” color=”primary” align=”center” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bodyjewelry.com%2Fjeswandsknar.html||target:%20_blank”][vc_single_image image=”4644″ img_size=”” alignment=”center”][vc_btn title=”SHOP NOW” shape=”square” color=”primary” align=”center” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bodyjewelry.com%2Fpss8161.html||target:%20_blank”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”4641″ img_size=”” alignment=”center”][vc_btn title=”SHOP NOW” shape=”square” color=”primary” align=”center” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bodyjewelry.com%2F602.html||target:%20_blank”][vc_single_image image=”4639″ img_size=”” alignment=”center”][vc_btn title=”SHOP NOW” shape=”square” color=”primary” align=”center” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bodyjewelry.com%2Flsq011.html||target:%20_blank”][/vc_column][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_separator color=”blue”][vc_custom_heading text=”Follow us for Piercing Inspiration” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:center|color:%231e73be”][vc_column_text][instagram-feed][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]