Ex-voto

Okay kiddo, have you ever seen a movie where a character has a wish and goes to a church or a temple to pray for it? Well, after their wish comes true, some people want to say thank you to the gods.

In some parts of the world, like Italy or Mexico, people thank the gods by leaving something special behind at the church, temple, or shrine. This special thing is called an ex-voto.

An ex-voto can be a drawing, painting, or even a statue that represents the wish or the miracle that happened. Let's say someone was in a car accident and survived without a scratch, they might leave a little toy car as an ex-voto to say thank you for being safe.

Ex-votos are like a special thank you note to the gods, a way of saying thank you for listening and helping out when something goes wrong. People also leave ex-votos to show how their faith and belief in the gods and saints.