Antigua Guatemala Sawdust Carpets

Thousands of catholics in antigua guatemala join together during lent each year to make colored sawdust carpets in preparation for semana santa or holy week in 2014 they broke the guinness book of world records and made the longest sawdust carpet ever at an astounding 6 600 feet in class the art teacher drew stencils in pencil on colored bulletin board paper and then students.

Antigua guatemala sawdust carpets.

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. The people of la antigua guatemala and surrounding villages simply love to make processional carpets and the town fair provides the perfect excuse to make sawdust and flower carpets throughout the year. A religious offering they re made by hand often with sawdust in whatever design.

What processions to see on holy week in antigua guatemala. Along with the processional carpets white and yellow plastic decorations mark the route of the town s procession. Apr 2 2018 explore susan savage s board sawdust carpet followed by 161 people on pinterest. As elaborate and individual as they are ephemeral alfombras are carpets that adorn the street routes of church processions during the season of lent.

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. Really why wait for semana santa holy week. Antigua guatemala carpets are generally made using molds with allegoric designs religious symbols biblical scenes geometric shapes and floral designs with entire families working together using sawdust pine needles fruit flowers sand and cut paper. Bella guatemala travel antigua is a small city of 35 000 people defined by cobblestoned.

See more ideas about sawdust carpet guatemala. That day la merced church takes a procession out that goes through the streets of the colonial city with sawdust carpets adorning its passage.