Easter is the most important celebration in Guatemala, a country with strong Christian traditions. The entire country waits anxiously for this time of year to show it’s devotion and to participate in the Easter events. The celebrations are a fusion of Mayan and Spanish traditions that remark the sorrow of the Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.
During Easter, Guatemala is filled with smells of all kind. The gastronomy prepared just for the holy week include Spanish fish dishes, vegetables with vinegar, desserts made with bread and honey and fresh beverages of hibiscus or rice. All the Guatemalan food prepared in Easter has a meaning, from the sorrow and mourning of Christ death to the joy of resurrection.
Even the trees and flowers seem glad to be in Easter. The warm weather of the season makes the flowers bloom, the whole country is full of colors everywhere. The most important traditions during the Easter’s 40 days are the floats, a tradition brought to Guatemala from Andalucia, Spain.
The processions are held throughout the country and thousands of people participates in them, which makes it the biggest Easter celebration of the world. The devotion of the Guatemalan people is also represented inside the churches, where the “huertos” are made for Jesus. These are sawdust carpets decorated with flowers and fruits.
Picture by Ivan Castro
Comment by Danny Scott at Mar 16th, 2008 6:21 pm ↑
A very nice website
Pingback by » Holy Week in Guatemala at Mar 20th, 2008 9:27 pm ↑
[…] It is one of the most important season and celebrations during the year. Easter is the commemoration of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection and there are solemn processions in the city and all Guatemalan territory, specially Antigua Guatemala. There are a lot of generations who keep doing this particular tradition, elaborating colored sawdust carpets on the streets, outside their houses, giving the processions reverence when they pass on them. The processions are floats carried by church members’ shoulders, joined with clouds of incense, and church musicians playing mournful dirges. Processions started from Monday to Sunday, all the week. We also wrote about this in Easter in Guatemala. For a better idea of the traditions, check the following timelapse video of the procession of Jesús Nazareno del Calvario in Guatemala City: […]
Pingback by Bedouin Blog » Feszültség at Apr 7th, 2008 3:35 pm ↑
[…] A város teljesen felbolydult, a külföldiek mind elutaztak Antiguába (most mondta valaki, hogy tavaly 125 ezren szállták meg a várost a húsvéti időszakban, idén ennél többet várnak), a fővárosiak pedig lerohanták San Pedrót. Hajnali háromkor egy kis petárdadurrogás figyelmeztetett arra, hogy a java még csak most jön. A guatemalai Húsvét nem kis ügy, ezzel foglalkozik most az egész ország. Pénzt és időt nem kímélve készülnek az ünneplésre. Mi is készülődünk, igyekszünk művelődni a helyi szokásokból, össze is írtunk pár szakkifejezést. La alfombra: fűrészporból, homokból, virágokból és egyéb anyagokból épített „szőnyeg”, ezen halad az ünnepi menet. La velación: szent virrasztás La hermandad: testvérsövetség El anda: fátyol, zászló Los cucuruchos: ünnepi menet beöltözött résztvevői El aserrin tenido: színes fűrészpor La imagen: szentek szobrai La procesion: ünnepi menet […]
Comment by jessica at Apr 30th, 2009 6:04 am ↑
this is a good site!
Comment by Carlos Nimacachi at Nov 5th, 2009 7:06 pm ↑
This is a really good article about Easter in Guatemala. Thanks! I linked it to the “Special Days in the Village” section of my website.
Comment by jackelin sanchez at Feb 17th, 2010 11:59 pm ↑
ok in guatemala they make food and then everyone gets together they all eat the food but i am going to ask you a question .What places in Guatemala they celebrated or do they have other parts that do it
Comment by bixby at Jun 1st, 2010 1:10 pm ↑
when is this celbration happening what is the date?