Mural of sugar skull (calavera) in Oaxaca, Mexico

© Judy Bellah/Alamy

Mural of sugar skull (calavera) in Oaxaca, Mexico

Sugar skulls may be to the Day of the Dead what jack-o’-lanterns are to Halloween, but the similarity ends there. The decorated skulls, or calaveras, are traditionally made of sugar, as the name implies, but clay, wood, and other materials are also used. The elaborate embellishments to the skulls are meant to represent the transformation and rebirth into the next stage of life. More recently, tattoos, street art, and other modern mediums have been used to create calaveras, such as this mural art in Oaxaca, Mexico.