Semana Santa (Holy Week) starts today. A predominately Catholic nation, Guatemala considers this week an important one, with a national holiday running from noon on Wednesday until Monday morning. Many families take a vacation, and processions fill the streets as people celebrate. So today I take a break from the blogs about our great team to give you a glimpse into life in Guatemala this week.

Weeks before, purple goes up in preparation of the celebrations. I’ve been told in Antigua on Friday the purple is replaced with black, remembering Christ’s crucifixion, and then replaced with the purple on Sunday. I have not seen that as much in Chichi. I have noticed there is much celebration leading up to Friday and then not much after. You won’t see other churches giving big invitations to their Sunday services, at least not where I am. I have seen it more in Guatemala City.

It is not uncommon to see a person strung up on a line, like this. This represents Judas hanging himself after he gave up Jesus for the 30 coins.

Photo Credit: Sheri Kretzschmar

Hours and days go into preparing these beautiful alfombras (carpets) made of flowers, colored sawdust, fruits and/or vegetables.

People pay to walk in the parades, carry the floats, and more. Only certain people can actually walk on the carpets. It seems as if part of this tradition plays into the Catholic penance system, but I’m no expert. I’ll admit some of the songs they play during these processions I find quite dark and eerie, but again that is my perspective, and there is a good chance there is something I do not understand. However, I do enjoy the experience of seeing it.

I hope you have enjoyed a peek into Guatemala during Semana Santa. I’ll be taking a break from the blog Friday this week and Monday next week. I will see you Friday of next week. Happy Easter!