Celebrations in Guatemala

Guatemalas independence day is celebrated on September 15. This holiday is

celebrated like others in Guatemala with dancing, music, parades, food, and
fireworks.

All Saints Day (Da de Todos los Santos) is celebrated on November 1st
throughout Guatemala. The town of Todos Santos Cuchumatn has one of the best
festivals, during which local men hold a wild (and drunken) horse race. You can
also enjoy fiambre during All Saints Day this is a Guatemalan dish that is typically
only eaten during this festival.

The Day of the Dead (Da de Los Muertos) also takes place immediately after All
Saints Day and is celebrated across Guatemala. On this day, families head to the
local cemetery to mark the gravestones of departed relatives with candles and
flowers.

On December 7, Guatemala celebrates one of its more unique holidays Burning of

the Devil. All over Guatemala families take burnable items including waste paper,
old magazines, and trash and light them on fire in the street. This ritual is meant to
cleanse the households as they prepare for the holy week surrounding Christmas.

Guatemala shares many holidays with the U.S. and the rest of the world, including
Christmas and New Years. Christmas is an interesting mixture of indigenous and
Catholic traditions. Many towns hold religious processions during the nine days
leading up to Christmas Day.

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, takes place during the week of Easter. Its one of
the countrys largest and most universal celebrations. Lively religious processions
occur and colorful carpets known as alfombras, which are made from dyed
sawdust and flower petals, are paraded down the streets.

Holy week in Guatemala

Holy week is a period of great tradition and religious fervor during which
commemorates the passion of Christ with rituals that are performed during Lent
and that culminate with week with vigils and processions.

Each Friday of Lent is reza the Via Crucis that runs the chapels of the steps from
the Temple of San Francisco until the calvary. The tradition of the Via Crucis was
initiated in the ancient Guatemala by the brother Pedro of San Jos of Betancourt
in the century XVII. Every Sunday there is a procession in which is read in litter the
image of the Nazarene. Each time it is different village and runs along the main
streets of the city for several hours. Holy week begins the Domingo de Ramos with
great splendor. Thursday and Friday it continues with great devotion on the
occasion of the processions of the Holy burial and concludes the Domingo de
Pascua with the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. On this occasion
neighbours and sororities produced beautiful carpets made of dyed sawdust,
flowers, scraps of paper and variety of materials, so use all your ingenuity.

The town of Cobn, in the Central Highlands, hosts an annual folklore festival in
late July or early August. Known as Rabin Ajau, this impressive festival showcases
Mayan traditions and includes music and dance. A Mayan beauty queen is also
crowned.

October 20 Commemoration of the revolution of 1944: place to celebrate this event

is Guatemala City where thousands take to the streets near Plaza Mayor. You'll
find lots of music, dance, fireworks, and noise.