Howcast

How to Make Papier-Mache Day of the Dead Skulls

Howcast — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:15:55 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Inflate the balloon Inflate the balloon a day in advance or inflate and deflate it several times to make it more pliable.
Step 2: Create the skull shape Set the balloon on the mouth of the jar to steady it as you work. Create a skull shape by wrapping a few strips of masking tape completely around the balloon about one-third of the way up from the bottom, slightly squeezing it in, to create the look of the jaw.
Step 3: Paste Put on the protective gloves. Dab the wheat paste or diluted white glue on a section of the balloon with the paintbrush. Apply a piece of the tissue paper and brush on more paste over the piece. Add another piece so it slightly overlaps the first. Continue around the balloon until you have two layers of tissue covering the balloon.
TIP: Use white tissue on a colored balloon or more colorful tissue for a more festive look.
Step 4: Let dry Attach a clothespin to the knot of the balloon and hang from the clothesline to dry. When dry, pop the balloon with the scissors near the knot and remove it through the knot hole.
Step 5: Cut the base Cut a hole in the base of the skull toward the rear so it leans back slightly when displayed. Cut out the eye holes, nose holes, and mouth. Affix a piece of tissue over each hole with the paste on the inside of the skull.
Step 6: Get glowing Give the skull a glow by securing a battery-operated light to the surface where you plan to display the skull using a piece of modeling clay. Place the skull over the light.
FACT: In pre-Columbian Mexico, it was common to keep skulls as trophies and display them during rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.

You Will Need

Large balloon
Empty jar
Masking tape
Gloves
Wheat paste or diluted white craft glue
Paintbrush
White or colored tissue paper
torn into 1- to 2-in. squares
Clothespins and a clothesline
Craft scissors or a craft knife
Battery-powered light
Piece of modeling clay

How to Make a Day of the Dead Altar

Howcast — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:01:12 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Cover the table Cover the table with cut tissue paper, or papel picado in Spanish, arrange the boxes on the table, also covering them with paper so your altar has 3 tiers. Significant colors for the paper are purple, white, and pink to symbolize pain, hope, and celebration, respectively.
TIP: You can also use a black cloth to cover the table and boxes.
Step 2: Add a photograph Place a photograph of the person to whom the altar is dedicated on the top tier of the altar, along with pictures of saints that are important to the family.
TIP: Place objects that represent things that the deceased liked in life, as well as personal belongings, on each tier of the altar.
Step 3: Add candles Adorn your altar with candles made of beeswax or paraffin, in different shapes and sizes, to light the way for the spirits. Place four on the top tier to represent the four cardinal points of the compass.
Step 4: Include skulls Include toy and candy skulls and skeletons in your decorations. Three skulls on the second tier represent the Holy Trinity.
Step 5: Burn incense Burn incense — especially white copal — to guide the dead to the altar.
Step 6: Include food Include food on your altar. Traditional Day of the Dead bread, or pan de muerto, is eaten by the dead when they come to visit their loved ones. For adults, put other traditional food on the altar, such as tamales and mole. For children, leave sweets and fruit.
Step 7: Scatter marigolds Scatter your altar with yellow marigolds to represent life’s brevity. Remember and honor your passed loved ones and celebrate their lives every November.
FACT: Mexico City is built on the ruins of the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan.

You Will Need

Table
Tissue paper
2 boxes
Photograph of the dead
Pictures of saints
Candles
Toy and candy skulls and skeletons
Incense
Food
Flowers
Black cloth (optional)
Personal objects and belongings (optional)

How to Celebrate the Day of the Dead in Mexico

Howcast — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:16:14 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Buy orange marigolds Buy orange marigolds for the ofrenda, or altar. These will be sold in abundance close to the holiday at any Mexican market you visit. Other flowers can be used, but marigolds are the traditional flower of the holiday.
Step 2: Find Pan de Muerto Find pan de muerto, or Day of the Dead bread, at any Mexican bakery. This bread is sweet and made with orange peel and anise. Small strips of dough are baked to the top to simulate bones. Other food can also be placed on the altar.
TIP: Bring extra food and drink for the living family members who will be in attendance.
Step 3: Get sugar skulls Get sugar skulls, a traditional candy, to lay on the altar. They are what they sound like — candies in the shape of skulls. Sugar skulls are typically used for the altars of children, but can be used on any altar.
Step 4: Bring washing supplies Bring a bowl with some water, soap, and a towel to place on the altar. It is believed that the souls of the dead will want to wash up before they come back to the realm of the living.
TIP: Think of the things your deceased friend or relative enjoyed in life. Those things can also be added to the altar. Candles, photos, religious artifacts, and toys can all be used.
Step 5: Go to the cemetery Go to the cemetery with everything you have gathered to build the altar. You should go late in the night, around midnight, and plan to stay.
Step 6: Remember your loved one Remember your loved one with family and friends. This can mean anything from sitting silently to dancing and singing. Each family is different and celebrates differently, but Dia de los Muertos is not a holiday of mourning — it is a day to celebrate the life of someone you loved.
FACT: Mexico’s Independence Day is celebrated on September 16.

You Will Need

Orange marigolds
Day of the Dead bread
Sugar skulls
Bowl of water
Towel
Soap
Fond memories
Extra food and drink (optional)
Candles (optional)
Photos of the deceased (optional)
Other items that represent the deceased (optional)

How to Celebrate the Day of the Dead

Howcast — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:45:36 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Decorate your home Decorate your home with orange marigolds and fruits in anticipation of the arrival of the dead on October 31.
Step 2: Set up an altar Set up an altar with pictures of deceased family members. Decorate it with flowers, bread, fruit and candy.
TIP: Buy some special Day of the Dead bread, which is sold in Mexican bakeries during the month of October.
Step 3: Light candles Light all-night burning candles in the afternoon of October 31. Then attend Mass on the morning of November 1.
TIP: Although the Day of the Dead has its roots in pre-Columbian culture, it is today very much a Catholic holiday.
Step 4: Visit a cemetery After mass, visit the cemetery where your deceased relatives have been buried. Take hoes, picks, and shovels so you can clean their graves and honor their memories. Place flowers, bread, and fruit on the graves.
Step 5: Dance Take part in traditional dances in the evening. Then return to the cemetery at midnight for a reunion of the living and the dead.
FACT: The Aztecs believed that the spirits of their dead would return to them as butterflies.

You Will Need

Marigolds and fruit
Altar and decorations
Candles
Mass
Cemeteries
Dances
Day of the Dead bread (optional)

How to Make Popular Day of the Dead Recipes

Howcast — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:01:21 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Make albondigas Make albondigas, or meatballs, by bringing a quart of water with the carrots, potatoes, a diced onion, salsa, and bouillon cubes to a boil in a stockpot. Then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Make meatballs and cook Mix the ground beef, breadcrumbs, and milk in a bowl, form 1-inch meatballs, and drop them into the simmering broth. When the water starts to boil again, reduce the heat to medium-low. Then cover the pot and cook the stew until the meatballs are cooked through — about 20 minutes. Serve the stew hot.
TIP: Chop up some fresh cilantro and sprinkle it over the stew for a garnish.
Step 3: Make chicken mole Prepare chicken mole. Blend the mole with the chicken broth, then bring it to boil in a large skillet. Add the chicken, and cook for about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, turning it once after 10 minutes. Sprinkle the top with toasted sesame seeds before serving.
Step 4: Make Mexican rice Make Mexican rice. Cook the rice in the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for three minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Then stir in half of a diced onion, green pepper, jalapeno pepper, and diced tomato.
TIP: For an extra-spicy kick, use a habanero pepper instead of jalapeno.
Step 5: Add seasonings and cook Add the boullion cube and season the mixture with the 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, and a halved clove of garlic, adding salt and pepper to taste. Bring it back to a boil, cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 20 minutes. Serve with the chicken and albondigas for your Day of the Dead feast.
FACT: Food is traditionally offered on Day of the Dead altars so that spirits can be nourished by their aromas or essences.

You Will Need

4 sliced carrots
2 peeled and diced potatoes
1 1/2 onions
1 1/2 c. salsa
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/3 c. seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/3 c. milk
8-oz. jar of mole poblano
28 oz. of chicken broth
4 chicken breast halves
Toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 c. long grain white rice
1/2 green pepper
finely chopped
Chicken bouillon cube
Herbs and spices
Blender
Cilantro (optional)
Habanero pepper (optional)

How to Make Day of the Dead Bread

Howcast — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:46:12 +0000

Instructions

Step 1: Mix dry ingredients Mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, anise seed, and yeast in a mixing bowl until everything’s combined.
Step 2: Heat milk, water, and butter and add to bowl Heat the milk, water, and butter in a pan until the butter melts. Then pour the liquid into the dry ingredients mixture and beat it thoroughly.
Step 3: Add eggs and flour Mix in the eggs and another 1 1/2 cups flour, and continue adding the rest of the flour, little by little, mixing as you add.
Step 4: Knead the dough Flour your work surface and knead the dough on it for nine to 10 minutes. Put the dough in a greased bowl and allow it to rise until it doubles in size — about half an hour.
TIP: Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel while the dough rises so the air doesn’t dry it out.
Step 5: Shape the dough Punch the dough down, shape it into an oval, and make decorative bone shapes in the top of the oval.
TIP: You can pull off pieces of dough and shape them into bones to stick on top of the loaf.
Step 6: Bake and decorate Let the dough rise for another hour and then bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes. Then remove it from the oven and sprinkle it with confectioners’ sugar and colored sugar.
Step 7: Offer it to the spirits Put the loaf of bread on your Day of the Dead altar to feed the spirits of loved ones who have passed away.
FACT: Dia de los Muertos was originally an indigenous holiday in Mesoamerica. When Spanish colonists arrived in Mexico, they moved the day to November 2 so it coincided with the Catholic holiday, All Souls Day.

You Will Need

5 1/2 c. flour
plus more for dusting
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. anise seed
2 packets dry yeast
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. butter
4 eggs
Colored sugar and confectioners’ sugar