Guatemala S Easter Sawdust Carpets

Arts colorful sawdust carpets coat the streets of guatemala s cities during their iconic easter holy week processions.

Guatemala s easter sawdust carpets.

The final processions take place on easter sunday. The bearers wear white symbolizing joy. Lent in antigua guatemala includes video link carpet in progress antigua guatemala the sawdust carpets that grace the streets and churches of antigua during the season of lent ash wednesday easter day are as beautiful as any valuable oriental rug that you can find. Later a solemn procession of roman centurions march over the carpets carrying an image of christ on the cross.

What processions to see on holy week in antigua guatemala. This year the country has a new reason to celebrate it has been recognized by guinness world records for producing the longest sawdust carpet in the world. Holy week in antigua guatemala begins on palm sunday with a mass in catholic churches. The tradition of decorating streets in this fashion began in europe and was brought to the americas by the spanish.

Every year during holy week amazing carpets composed of flowers vegetables fruits and dyed sawdust adorn the streets of antigua guatemala a lovely colonial city home to latin america s most famous easter celebration. Sawdust carpets in guatemala s easter celebrations the world and i 10 4 april 1995. Guatemala s semana santa the easter festival in the former colonial capital are beyond comparison to anything in the northern hemisphere along cobblestone streets intricate carpets of colored sawdust are painstakingly laid down. Tapetes de aserrín are one or more layers of colored sawdust and sometimes other additional materials laid on the ground as decoration sawdust carpets are traditionally created to greet a religious procession that walks over them.

Antigua s easter tradition of laying intricate carpets made of vibrant flowers and other objects to decorate the city during semana santa bring a whole new level of beauty to guatemala s former. Further reading evans larry l. Bella guatemala travel antigua is a small city of 35 000 people defined by cobblestoned. Lord priscilla sawyer and daniel j.

Firecrackers explode as the celebrations draw to a close. Daily mail be sure to look at the gorgeous photos what other ephemeral. That day la merced church takes a procession out that goes through the streets of the colonial city with sawdust carpets adorning its passage. To soften the path.

The spectacular carpet is part of guatemala s traditional easter celebrations and was created by 5 000 volunteers using 54 tonnes of sawdust.