What small gift do costumed children ask for in some Mexican cities?

In some Mexican cities, costumed children ask for a calaverita, a small gift of candy or money, during Day of the Dead.

The custom is often compared with Halloween trick-or-treating because children go door to door or approach passersby in costume. The requested calaverita may be sweets, coins, or another small present. Practices differ by location, so it is not a universal part of every Mexican community’s observance.

The word comes from calavera, meaning “skull,” a central Day of the Dead image. Calaveras appear in sugar decorations, masks, art, humorous poems, and other holiday traditions. In this context, however, calaverita means the little gift being requested, not necessarily a skull-shaped object.

This tradition should also be distinguished from calaveras literarias, short satirical poems associated with the holiday, and from sugar calaveras placed on altars or given as gifts. Local customs may blend these meanings, but the children’s request specifically refers to a small treat or payment.