Travel Guatemala by Martsam Travel

Guatemala Feasts

All Saints Day

Part # 1

Feasts of the Church

At the beginning of Christianity, many new practitioners were persecuted and tortured by the Roman Empire. Thus, the early church commemorated the death of these martyrs on their date of death.

Over time, there were many martyrs that it was impossible to keep a date for each one, so it was decided to group the celebrations in one day, and every region was designated a specific date to remember these saints.

It was not until the year 610 D. C. that Pope Boniface IV dedicated a pantheon in Rome, and assigned an anniversary date in honor of the Virgin and all martyrs. Being this the 13^th of May.

Through nearly three centuries it was instituted this celebration to remember the martyrs and saints of the Church, selecting Nov. 1^st as the date for its commemoration under Pope Gregory III and a day later he settled on a day to tribute to all the deceased.

This date coincided with a festival of Celtic origin practiced in Europe even before the imposition of Christianity, marking the end of the harvest season and the start of the Dark season or Hollow eve, that is, autumn in the northern hemisphere. Later on, this celebration took the name of Halloween.

Commemoration to the ancestors

In the prehispanic world, they had specific days to remember their ancestors. In the short account of the Mayan calendar, called Tzolkin, they celebrated an event called Watzakib Batz. During this festival, it was easier to communicate with the world of the dead.

In varios Archaeoloqical sites, as in EI Baul, Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa, there are several representations of the death, indicating the reverence that the Mayan civilization had towards them.

Unique fusion

After the conquest, Catholic priests were responsible for the reorganization of the Native persons. The monks placed the name of a saint to each town, to entrust them under his protection and indoctrinate the catholic tradition to all the natives.

The Indians, meanwhile, acquired the Christian events, but adapted them to their own environment, resulting in a series of rituals syncretics that were sustained over time and took a unique and unparalleled enhancement.
In the case of the commemoration of saints and the dead, the celebration took a particular enhancement due to the pre-Hispanic custom of devoting some days to share with their ancestors.

The adaptation of the Christian festival originated the belief that during this time the dead can come back to visit their loved ones to the world of the living, and thus emerged most unique rituals of Guatemala.

These include the construction of altars for loved ones, food called cabecera, fiambre, the kites, horse racing, among many other events that make this time an entire social and cultural phenomenon.

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