Day of the dead
This months designs theme at Teevolution.co.uk, features T-Shirts that have been designed in the style of Calavera or in Spanish Kalaβera, which means Skull. These designs are synonymous with the Mexican festival of the day of the dead (Día de Muertos) which is celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of November which is also associated with the catholic All Saints Day (Todos los Santos) and All Souls Day (Fieles Difuntos). The festival celebrates death and the passing of friends and family members.
Part of the festivities involves the tradition of Sugar Skulls, is for families to brightly decorate handmade Skulls, these have become symbols of the festival that have gained widespread attribution in design, fashion, media and films such as 007 Spectre and Coco.
Traditionally, the Calavera was made of sugar and given as an offering on the graves and family altars of relatives that have passed away. Today they are still given as an offering, but made with chocolate, nuts and other treats. A family decorate the skulls in a way that will resemble a family member, a big smile or crazy hair whilst representing the joy of life and death with the bright colours that you see adorning modern day skulls.
The bright colours all hold their own significance and take on their own meanings as explained below:
- Red - Blood
- Orange- Sunshine
- Yellow - The Mexican Marigold (Its a symbol of death)
- Purple - Pain
- Pink - Hope
- White - Purity
- Black - The land of the dead
We think the fun mixture of vibrant colours and skulls comprising of cool wacky features make an excellent choice of subjects for our fun T-shirt design team to focus on during the coming spring and summer seasons.
Calavera Day of the Dead T shirt Blog