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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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.
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 … Read more
Chicuyas is the name by which Guatemalans name the part of the pine tree, which I don’t its English name (can you help me with the English name for part of the pine tree). The pine tree provides many elements of the Christmas decorations for Guatemalans, like the pine needle that is spread on the … Read more
Does anybody know when will the Christmas decorations will be put away? The answer is in last year’s entries… go happy hunting now.