Easter?

My Mom sent me an Easter e-card and it kinda caught me by surprise. Easter? Is it Easter?

Easter, yay!

But yeah, it is Easter...only here in Guatemala, it's Semana Santa (Holy Week) which is really, really different. In my mind, Easter and Semana Santa are not equivalent holidays at all! There are no chocolate bunnies, brightly coloured jellybeans, and Cadbury Easter eggs. There are no baskets with pretty pastel ribbons and plastic "straw". Semana Santa does involve some sweet treats -- fudge fingers, yum! -- but for most of Guatemala, Semana Santa is a deeply religious holiday.

The church in Panajachel is all lit up. It's beautiful.
Notice the stuff hanging from the arches in the foreground. Pretty cool.

Statues of Roman guards.

Statues outside our church.

The inside of our church in Panajachel. So lovely. There was a group singing.

I wasn't feeling up to the crowds and madness of Semana Santa this year, so I enjoyed watching the procession on Facebook via live feeds from my friends, Amazing Iva and Mr. Jon. It was nice to see it without having to actually get my antisocial butt out of my chair. Ha ha!
I've shamelessly stolen a bunch of photos from Facebook of the Semana Santa activities in a few towns around Lake Atitlan.

A re-enactment of Jesus' walk.

Can't forget the alfombras! (carpets) That is one big fruit salad.

Made with coloured sawdust and other things. So creative and unique!

This is the main anda (float) for the procession in Sololá. The bearers are wearing black. The guys in Antigua and other places usually wear royal purple.

My friend snapped this picture of a float carried by women in San Pedro.

Another San Pedro picture from my friend. Interesting that the women are wearing more traditional veils.
Also note how they trample the beautiful carpets. Such a fascinating ritual.

I have to mention that for many Guatemalans, Semana Santa is not so holy and involves a whole lot of drinking and partying. Not sure how that came about, but drinking is such an accepted practice during Semana Santa that beer companies promote like CRAZY. So on the streets right beside the religious icons and pictures of Jesus are the infamous "sexy dancing ladies". Here is just 20 seconds of one group!

I hope you all had a lovely Easter or Semana Santa or secular weekend! 🐰💜