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In Guatemala poinsettias are known as Flor de Pascua, Flor de Noche Buena or simply Pascuas. Poinsettias are native to Guatemala and Mesoamerica and in general can be found in the wild or in gardens as undocumented aliens. Poinsettias or Flor de Pascua are in full bloom in The Land of the Eternal Spring for the Christmas season. The most common color is red, but now you can find yellow, white, pink and mixed at your local nursery and shops. Pascuas are an integral part of the Guatemalan decoration for the Christmas season and beyond. They are also given as gifts quite often.

If you would like to have a yellow poinsettias wallpaper for you computer, download it from here.

In an article from Prensa Libre entitled: Pascuas que cambian de colores (Poinsettias of different colors) I read that, according to industry statistics, Guatemala is the top grower of poinsettias in the world. Guatemala produces 60 million poinsettias which represents 80% of the production in the world. How about that?

Other interesting reads about Poinsettias in Spanish/Google-translated.

• Pascuas y pinabetes, negocios de fin de año / Poinsettias and Pine trees, an end-of-the-year business
• Estrella de Nochebuena; pascua florece con la Navidad / Star of Christmas Eve, Poinsettias blossom with Christmas
• Pascuas que cambian de colores / Poinsettias of different colors

During early December, in Guatemala people begin putting up their Nacimientos (Nativity Scenes); a tradition that was brought to Guatemala by Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt and then spread to the rest of American continent.

One important aspect of nacimientos is that baby Jesus is missing from the scene since his actual birthday is on December 25th. In the mean time, Marí­a and José begin asking posada, the quest of shelter; these celebrations are known in Guatemala as Posadas.

Don’t you wish you can have one these adorable Guatemalan nacimientos in your own home for Christmas?

Ho ho! not the Christmas shopping you were hoping for… merely some Guatemalan Christmas decorations (follow if you dare; I will not be held responsible if you end up doing Christmas shopping all over again ).

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You saw the lambs made from dried corn husks just a few days ago. Then you saw the Spanish moss or pashte as it’s known in Guatemala. Finally, you saw the pashte being used as a carpet for the Nativity scenes known as Nacimientos in Guatemala. Last but not least, I bring to you the corderos de pashte (lambs made from Spanish moss) as the conclusion for the Guatemalan Christmas Decorations series.

I certainly hope that you have enjoyed the series and that it brought sweet forgotten memories to all Guatemalans living abroad.

Please leave your comments and feedback to let me know what I could have done better or things I should have done a different way.

Aserrí­n (sawdust) is used often in Guatemala for decorations, especially the world famous Holy Week carpets. Sawdust is dyed with bright colors to provide the color and contrast of the different designs. This photo and the next are the last in the Guatemalan Christmas Decorations series.

Right at midnight on December 24th/25th, baby Jesus is put in the Nacimiento scene set up on December 8th (do you remember?). Right at midnight the joy and happiness of Guatemalans celebrating Navidad (Christmas) literally explodes into firecrackers, bell rings, songs, hugs, and sharing of lots of great Guatemalan Christmas cuisine, like tamales especially made for the occasion.

Merry Christmas Everyone! My best wishes of Love and Peace for All!

Tomorrow I will try to post photos and videos of the Christmas celebrations in Guatemala as they occur right at midnight. Stay tune!

On December 23rd the quest for lodging or the act of pedir posada ends and marks the beginning of preparations for Christmas or the birth of baby Jesus.

Here you can see a typical anda (float) with the figures of Mary and Joseph as they wondered around town looking for lodging (posada) and the final place where they found it. You can all see the ensemble of the Guatemalan Christmas decorations.

Tomorrow, you will see a Nativity scene with baby Jesus being put in its nacimiento.

One of the most important decorations for the nacimientos is the pashte; also known as paxtle, paste, pastle, or simply heno, which is the neutral Spanish word. Pashte is translated into English as Spanish moss; go figures. You must revisit the nacimiento photo from December 8th to see how pashte is used for the Nativity scenes in Guatemala. Pashte is used as the carpet for the nacimientos as pine needles are used as carpets for the Guatemalan homes in the Christmas season.

Musgo is the Spanish word for moss. Musgo is used for the nacimiento scenes (nativities scenes) in Guatemala. You buy musgo by la medida (the bunch) for Q5; depending in the size of your nacimiento, you may need two or three bunches.

Come back tomorrow to learn about the Guatemalan moss known pashte.

As I said at the very beginning of the Guatemalan Christmas Decoration series, the pine tree provides many elements of the Christmas decorations for Guatemalans like chicuyas (pine cones) as adornments, pine needles as carpets, and pine rings (cordones de pino). Cordones or cadenas de pino usually hang across the living rooms and around the Christmas tree and Nativity scenes. All these pine needles, pine cones, and pine rings, chamomile rings, tamales and ponche (fruit punch) provide the sweet and fruity smells of Christmas in Guatemala.

What things are hanged from the cordones of pino in Guatemala?

Paja (straw) or pajilla (little straw) are also found in the nativity scenes in the Guatemalan homes known as nacimientos in Spanish. As you can see, many of the Guatemalan Christmas decorations are made from natural plants.

We’re Hombres de Maí­z. Follow the white rabbit and you’ll know why!

Corderos (lambs) made from tusa (dried corn husk) are very popular around the Christmas season. As decorations goes, these borregos (lamb) made from natural fibers from the dried corn husks can be found in windows, gardens, front yards, doorways, balconies; you name it and you will find carnero (mutton) there. Heck sometimes you find a whole rebaño (herd). In our home, we have four borregos, two in each balcony.

These corderos de tusa can set you back Q25 each; but they are a wonderful addition the Guatemalan Christmas decoration ensemble. Stay tune because there are about seven more photos in the Guatemalan Christmas decoration series.

Click the photos/thumbnails aside: I don’t know if it is obvious or not, but you can alway click the photos and thumbnails to get an enlarge version. Please, let me know, is it obvious?

These tree parasites are known as gallitos or patas de gallo. Once again, I am going to abuse from your kindness and ask to provide the English name for this plant that is often found as a parasite in trees.

Gallitos are an integral part of the Guatemalan Christmas decorations, quite often found underneath the Christmas tree or next to the nacimientos.

Flor de Pascua, Flor de Noche Buena or simply Pascuas are how poinsettias are known in Guatemala. Poinsettias are native to Guatemala and Mesoamerica and in general can be found in the wild or in gardens as undocumented aliens. Poinsettias or Flor de Pascua are in full bloom in The Land of the Eternal Spring for the Christmas season. The most common color is red, but now you can find yellow, white, pink and mixed at your local nursery and shops. Pascuas are an integral part of the Guatemalan decoration for the Christmas season and beyond. They are also given as present quite often.

The chamomile rings are known as manzanilla in Guatemala (tejocotes in Mexican Spanish). The aroma of a Guatemalan Christmas decoration is provided mainly by the chamomile rings and the pine needles (used as carpets). Other scents around the Christmas season in Guatemala come off from the tamales, ponche (fruit punch) and hot authentic chocolate. The manzanilla rings sell for about Q5 each and they measure about 10 feet.