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Which folk art objects were made to be burned, broken, or discarded after ceremonies?

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rooster weather vane — Folk art Rooster weather vane, sheet and wrought iron, American, 19th century; in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. 73.6 × 166.4 × 4.5 cm.

In the study of folk art, many objects were created with an intentional lack of permanence, designed to be consumed, broken, or discarded after serving their specific ceremonial or festive purpose.1

Examples of such ephemeral folk art include:

Ceremonial items: Marriage bowls intended to be broken following a wedding ceremony.1
Funeral and ritual objects: Paper items specifically crafted to be burned during funeral rites.1
Festival and seasonal creations: Carnival figures, festival breads, and temporary symbolic designs—such as those made from flower petals for religious processions or drawn on thresholds during feast days.1
Recreational and transient forms: Snowmen and graffiti, which are inherently temporary by nature.1

While some folk art, such as family portraits or gravestones, was designed to endure, much of the field is characterized by this indifference to longevity, prioritizing the immediate function or symbolic role of the object over its preservation.1