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'Halloween is nearly upon us again and dori-sacs make skull and gothic/horror pendant necklaces, besides others, that will compliment you perfectly at a Halloween party. All of our pendants are handmade and handpainted and the thong necklaces have a drop of 18" although a different drop size can be specified on request at no extra cost. As we do all our own designing we can supply exclusive designs at a minimum order. Visit us on www.dori-sacs.co.uk to see more of our work. As a special Halloween offer exclusive to Creative Stores we are happy to give you a 20% discount off listed price for October (2011) Just add the code HALLOWEEN at checkout during October. Enough of me. To get us in the mood for Halloween and since a skull is symbolic of the day, let me tell you a few interesting things about skulls.
Skulls first appeared as an emblem of death during the bubonic plague, or the Black Death, that ravaged the inhabitants of Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries, and became known thereafter as the ‘Death’s Head’. Because of its association with death the skull became an object of fashion and art during the 16th century. It was during the fifteen hundreds that a portrait would have a skull painted on the back to symbolise the inevitable death of the sitter. Men and women of the upper classes would wear medallions of skulls, with a human skull on one side and a living face on the other. This was to remind the wearer and onlooker of death and also reminded them of their obligation to lead a moral life.
In the 18th century Caribbean pirates flew a black flag with a human skull over crossed bones. This flag was commonly known as the Jolly Roger, probably derived from the French ‘jolie rouge’ meaning ‘pretty red’, red being the original colour of the flag a ship would fly when it wanted it to be known that the ship would fight to the death. The later and more common black flag conveyed the same message to frighten a ship to surrender, the black skull-and-crossbones denoting a pirate ship that would show no quarter nor ask for one.