The Day of the Dead in Mexico – Decorations

A popular type of decoration used to commemorate the holiday in Mexico is the tissue banner. The most famous artisans live in the "Mestizo" village of San Salvador Huixcolotla. They have been making banners here for over 90 years. At first the banners were made using scissors, but since the 1940's they have been cut with tiny chisels, "fierritos."
Today skilled artisans use more than 50 different chisels to make various cuts in up to 50 sheets of tissue paper at a time.
The traditional patterns in the rural villages included angels, birds, the chalice, and crosses, but never skeletons. The popular pattern in Mexico City represents skeletons in various activities.
Traditionally, the coloured banners are displayed on October 31, the day the angelitos arrive, at 3 p.m. On November 1, the angelitos depart and the animas arrive. When this occurs the coloured banners are removed, and the black and white ones are displayed.