Lake Atitlan, Panajachel, Guatemala

Monday, April 21, 2014

Life in Guatemala A to Z: Religion

There are many churches in Guatemala, with the Catholic Church being the largest and the oldest, of course. Catholicism goes way back to when the Spaniards came to the New World.











At Easter time, the week leading up to it is called Semana Santa, or Holy Week. It's a festival week with vacationing, partying, family gatherings, and religious celebrations, culminating with Easter Sunday.



Regardless of one's personal religious affiliation, appreciating the Catholic churches with their schools, culture, statuary, courtyards is part of learning the history of the land.

13 comments:

  1. Very colourful yet sombre too! Take care
    x

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  2. Those churches are gorgeous. That's one thing we discovered when we moved to ABQ. Almost all of the churches were Catholic.

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  3. Those old churches are so beautiful. It points out how important the church was and hopefully still is.

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  4. beautiful pictures… it seems to be a very rich tradition in South America … would love to visit.

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  5. The pageantry and celebration in those photos look amazing.
    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
    Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

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  6. How beautiful and the first church is really interesting with the Points...it almost has a Moorish design or look which would make sense since Spain was the country that is represented here. I love the colourful way they celebrate Easter and there is probably some old customs intermingled with the catholic faith

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  7. Very colorful pictures. Thank you for sharing. I imagine the pageant for Easter Sunday was exceptionally grand.
    Gail visiting for AtoZ

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  8. I love the humble churches, the ones that show its purpose is to worship. All the glitz of European churches (Austria stands out) is distracting.

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  9. I love architechture and historic places. Great photos.

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  10. Lovely churches! How is Puerto Rico responding to the new Pope? I think Latin America has such a complicated connection to the church, it must be interesting to see.

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  11. Every place has its own signature style when it comes to celebrations. enjoyed the Guatemala Showcase Karen :)

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