Why this word is great
CALAVERA — [Noun] A sugar skull, often ornately decorated, used as a symbol in Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations. From Mexican Spanish calavera ("skull"), borrowed from Latin calvaria ("skull"), from calva ("bald head"). Unlike "skull" (a general term for the bony structure of the head, lacking cultural resonance) or "skeleton" (the entire bony framework, stripped of specificity), a calavera is both memento mori and celebration—death made sweet. It is the vivid swirl of icing on a sugar-white cranium, the glittering foil petals adorning hollow eye sockets, the marigold-strewn altar where the departed are welcomed back with laughter and pan de muerto. A calavera does not frighten; it reminds us that death, too, can wear a smile.