Guatemala S Easter Sawdust Carpets

Firecrackers explode as the celebrations draw to a close.

Guatemala s easter sawdust carpets.

The spectacular carpet is part of guatemala s traditional easter celebrations and was created by 5 000 volunteers using 54 tonnes of sawdust. To soften the path. Arts colorful sawdust carpets coat the streets of guatemala s cities during their iconic easter holy week processions. That day la merced church takes a procession out that goes through the streets of the colonial city with sawdust carpets adorning its passage.

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. Later a solemn procession of roman centurions march over the carpets carrying an image of christ on the cross. Holy week in antigua guatemala begins on palm sunday with a mass in catholic churches. What processions to see on holy week in antigua guatemala.

The final processions take place on easter sunday. 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. 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. The bearers wear white symbolizing joy.

Bella guatemala travel antigua is a small city of 35 000 people defined by cobblestoned. Lord priscilla sawyer and daniel j. 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. 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.

The anatomy of a sawdust carpet. Time lapse of a beautiful sawdust carpet being made and then trampled over by a catholic procession. The tradition of decorating streets in this fashion began in europe and was brought to the americas by the spanish. Further reading evans larry l.

Sawdust carpets in guatemala s easter celebrations the world and i 10 4 april 1995.