Day of the Dead, better know to us in the U.S. as All Saint's Day is celebrated November 1st in Guatemala. The celebration is much different is Guatemala than here in the U.S. The tradition is for families to honor the dead by going to the cemeteries and preparing special foods. The most popular dish is known as Fiambre, which is only made and eaten once a year as a traditional dish of Day of the Dead. It is served cold and consists of a mix of cheese, meat, eggs and vegetables cured in vinegar. Some recipes call for as many as 50 different ingredients.
Traditional Fiambre
Often times families spend all day eating, drinking and flying kites at the cemetery. In Santiago Sacatepequez, the largest and most well-known kite festival is held. Thousands of kites are flown by families, locals and religious groups to honor the dead. The elaborate kites span several feet and are constructed almost entirely of bamboo and tissue paper.
I did not take any of these pictures but, pulled them off various websites. One of my favorite websites is www.antiguadailyphoto.com It really gives one a sense of what is going on in Guatemala on a daily basis and does it with pictures too!
1 comment:
Great pictures! Day of the Dead is celebrated in many Spanish-speaking countries and is a mixture of Catholicism and the native indian religions. It is a happy day, as people believe that the spirits of family members return on this day. I have never seen those kites before, though, so they must be unique to Guatemala. Maybe some day we can take Grace and Dawson to GT at this time to experience this special day.
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