Thu, Oct 22, 2020
Tue, Oct 27, 2020
Jamie Keil
Marigolds & Sugar Skulls: Community Craft
Celebrating the dead is one of the most rooted customs in Mexico. Día de los Muertos is an annual pre-hispanic Indigenous celebration from October 31st to November 2nd. The origins of Día de los Muertos traces back 3,000 years. Different Indigenous peoples would build altars for their gods and the deceased to welcome their souls back to the living world, most adorn their altars with many, many cempazúchitl.
We know them as marigolds, the bright yellow or orange flowers. The largest indigenous group in Mexico, the Nahua people, who speak Náhuatl, call them cempazúchitl (sehm-pah-zu-cheel). The flower represents the sun and it also guides the souls of the dead. This lovely flower is used as a pathway for the Angelitos (or small baby angels) on the 31st, to decorate graves, and altars.Cempazúchitl (marigolds) really are the chosen decorative flower for Día de Muertos. They are considered helpful in guiding the deceased back to the living world because of their fragrant smell and bright color. These flowers are placed on gravestones, tucked into dancers’ hair and petals lead the way to various altars & ofrendas.
You can buy marigolds from local Santa Cruz County Farms, farmers markets and more. You can also decorate with some tissue paper flowers. Use orange and yellow to have them look like real marigolds, but you can also get creative and play with color in a great dia de muertos community craft.
You know them as marigolds, the bright yellow or orange flowers. The largest indigenous group in Mexico, the Nahua people, who speak Náhuatl, call them cempazúchitl (sehm-pah-zu-cheel). The flower represents the sun and it is said the flowers guide the souls of the dead.
They are considered helpful in guiding the deceased back to the living world because of their fragrant smell and bright color. These flowers are placed on gravestones, tucked into dancers’ hair and petals lead the way to various altars & ofrendas.
You can buy marigolds from local Santa Cruz County Farms, farmer's markets, and some grocery stores. If you're local market is sold out of marigolds, you can also decorate and recreate their beauty with some tissue paper flowers. Follow the tutorial below using orange and yellow tissue paper to have them look like real marigolds. Or get creative and play with color in a great Día de los Muertos community craft.
P.s. In our outdoor exhibition, Community is Collective Care, we’ve put together a few free, creativity kits to help get you started. Pick up the kits, found near the community fridge, to start making your own tissue paper flowers at home.
P.s. In our outdoor exhibition, Community is Collective Care, we’ve put together a few free, creativity kits to help get you started. Pick up the kits, found near the community fridge, to start making your own tissue paper flowers at home.
How to Make Tissue Paper Flowers
- The first thing I always do is a bit of inspirational research. Check out our Pinterest board for some awesome ideas.
- Grab your materials: Tissue Paper, Scissors & Pipe Cleaners.
- Cut your tissue paper into squares. We recommend squares bigger than 4x4 inches.
- Make a stack of about 5-6 tissue paper squares.
- Accordion fold the stack of squares using a table or a hard surface.
- Wrap a pipe cleaner around once or twice down the center and twist it closed.
- Carefully, separate the layers of tissue paper pulling them towards the center.
- Pull each layer up and fluff it to make it into a beautifully shaped marigold.
Don't forget to take a picture! We would love to see what you made. Take a picture and either tag @santacruzmah on social media or send an email to jamie@santacruzmah.org