Okay, so yesterday I was kinda bored, you know? Just chillin’ at home and I thought, “Hey, I should learn something new!” And Guatemala popped into my head for some reason. I mean, I know basically nothing about it except maybe coffee and that it’s somewhere in Central America.
So, first thing I did? Google, obviously. I typed in “what are holidays in Guatemala” – real original, I know. I wanted to get a sense of their culture and what days are important to them. It’s always interesting to see how different countries celebrate.
What I found was actually pretty cool. Turns out, they have a bunch of holidays, some religious, some historical, some just plain fun.
- New Year’s Day (January 1st): Pretty standard, like most places.
- Holy Week (Semana Santa): This is HUGE. Apparently, it’s a really big deal with processions and elaborate decorations all over the place. Think Easter week, but amplified.
- Labor Day (May 1st): Another common one, celebrating workers.
- Army Day (June 30th): I guess they celebrate their military.
- Assumption of the Virgin Mary (August 15th): A religious holiday.
- Independence Day (September 15th): This is their big national holiday, celebrating independence from Spain.
- Day of the Revolution (October 20th): Celebrating a revolution back in 1944.
- All Saints’ Day (November 1st): Honoring the dead, similar to Day of the Dead in Mexico.
- Christmas Eve (December 24th) and Christmas Day (December 25th): Again, pretty standard.
After reading the list, I wanted to dive deeper into Semana Santa. I’d seen pictures of these incredible street decorations made of flowers and sawdust, and I was curious about the whole tradition. So I watched a bunch of YouTube videos about it. I mean, seriously, the detail in those decorations is insane!
Then, I thought, “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to try making one of those sawdust carpets myself?” I know, totally random. But I went out to my garage and started digging around for some sawdust. Luckily, I had some left over from a previous project. I grabbed some old paint and started mixing colors.
It was definitely a challenge. I’m no artist, but I tried to create a simple design. It was a mess, I’m not gonna lie. My garage looked like a rainbow exploded. But it was kinda fun! I didn’t get anywhere near the level of detail of the real Guatemalan carpets, but I gave it my best shot.
What I learned?
Guatemala has a rich and vibrant culture. And even though I just scratched the surface, I learned a lot about their holidays and traditions. Plus, I got to be creative and make a mess in my garage. All in all, a pretty good way to spend an afternoon!
Next time, maybe I’ll try learning about their food. I hear the pepian is amazing.
