For the People of Guatemala, there is No Celebration More Anticipated than Semana Santa (Holy Week)

Author:
Sabrina L. Matson, Principal and Managing Director, Social Language Media (SLM) Consulting

​When I see flower bulbs blooming such as daffodils and tulips, my energy spikes and my longing for spring and longer lit days subside. This time of year brings new life and celebration. One particular celebration is Holy Week which is celebrated globally and precedes the week of Easter and the last week of Lent, in the West. I thought today would be a good day to share a bit of Guatemalan history of this meaningful celebration, Samana Santa (Holy Week) as we launch into the spring months.

​Holy Week (a religious celebration in Christianity) liturgies generally attract the largest crowds of the year. Beginning March 28 thru April 3this year, Samana Santa in Guatemala is celebrated with street expressions of faith, called processions, usually organized by a “Hermandad (Holy Brotherhood)”. Each procession of the Holy Week has processional floats and steps, which are often religious images of the Passion of Christ, or Marian images.

The Spanish tradition of Semana Santa arrived with the Spaniards to Guatemala in 1524. Almost 500 years later, Guatemala holds one of the most elaborate celebrations in the world. With grand processions, extravagant floats and intricately designed alfombras (“carpets”), Antigua, Guatemala hosts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year who yearn to be a part of the religious and cultural festivities–a mix of Spanish tradition and indigenous cultural beliefs. 
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Holy Week is the week leading up to Easter Sunday, commemorating the passion, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For the people of Guatemala, there is no celebration more anticipated than Semana Santa. Guatemalans show their support of this traditional holiday by hanging textile decorations of purple, red, lilac, and yellow in doorways and windows to signify the suffering and royalty of Jesus.

The most important days of Holy Week are Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and finally, Easter Sunday. Beginning Palm Sunday–exactly one week before Easter–Guatemalans flock to the city of Antigua to commemorate the day Jesus entered Jerusalem.
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Wouldn't it be lovely if we here in the United States adapted some of the Guatemalan traditions based in the cultural celebratory norms around Semana Santa (Holy Week), with all of the beautiful textiles and street celebrations that bring so much life and vibrancy to this historical moment in history? I personally would love to partake in a community effort of such a feat!