Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Processional on the First Sunday of Lent


Colored Sawdust used to create mat

In February, as Lent approaches, the Jacaranda trees which are all around Antigua, Guatemala bloom. Their purple petals are royal in color and set the scene for the season. Antigua is known for it's processionals and on each Sunday in Lent, A processional will begin at a church on the edge of town and wind its way toward the site of the old cathedral at the City's Center. I was blessed to be in Antigua for the first such processional for 2018.  In preparation, large colorful designs made of flowers and/or colored sawdust, are placed along the route of the processional. 
Flowers are used for this mat


Those with banners lead the processional 
While the processional is still a ways away, young men with banners began to make their way down the street as the music from the band can be heard long before one sees the musicians.

The largest float with the suffering Jesus
As the processional approaches, priests swing censers filling the air with incense.  Immediately my head began to react to the smell and I realize why I could never be a Catholic, Orthodox or Buddhist priest (there's other reasons, but my allergies is at the top of the list). 


The floats are carried on the shoulders of men who wear purple robes.  Those who carry the float are exchanged each block.  As they slowly move forward, the float seems to rock back and forth. Time seems to appear to slow down as the float waddles down the street carried by local men.
The statue of Jesus carrying the cross provides a visual that goes well with the mournful sounds coming from the band.

The band follows the Jesus float, providing a mournful tune to encourage those who are a witness to the processional to reflect on their sins and on our human role in crucifying the Savior.

Following Jesus is a float of the blessed mother of the Savior, Mary.

I think these were statues of Mary and Joseph.

As soon as the processional passed, men were out with shovels and racks to clean up the streets. The vegetation and sawdust was tossed into a front-end loader who would dump the waste into the back of waiting pickup trucks.

It was over in 30 minutes. Even though my head was clogged, it wouldn't have missed this experience.  It was also beautiful and mysterious.  

19 comments:

  1. It's amazing how people can make such beautiful designs with saw dust. I've seen something like that with colored sand.

    I've never seen a procession like this. It would be interesting to see in person.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderful treat for you! I would have loved being there.

    Our church always warns us ahead of time when incense will be used.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome, awesome travel post, friend Sage ... Thanks for sharing ... Love, cat.

    ReplyDelete
  4. A different kind of celebration than our Mardi Gras down here

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would like to witness a processional like that someday.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, those are made of grass and sawdust? That’s amazing. This sounds like a really cool experience. I wish I was able to travel more often.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Sage - that must have been an extraordinarily uplifting experience ... thanks for sharing these photos and the brief explanations ... cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow, what a special experience for you, and now for us as well! Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a unique experience. I'm glad you saw it, and shared with us. Must be arduous to participate in carrying a float, though it's really impressive how much pride they take in every aspect of the celebration.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm glad you were able to see that and thanks for sharing all the pictures. I've never seen anything like it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. How great that you got to experience this event. I enjoyed your photos and captions.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I know this must have been an incredible experience. I love seeing how Christians across the world observe various events and rituals.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love the pageantry. Your pictures remind me of Semana Santa in Seville.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm with you on the incense, but what a lovely tradition.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I cannot imagine how amazing of an experience this must have been...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Really amazing , only I see traditions like that in Spain ! Of course these traditions come from there. Holy week is really impressed in Spain too.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Very creative! That is a lot of purple!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Such amazing photographs Sage.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete