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Holy Week in Guatemala

March 28, 2026

A procession for Semana Santa passes in front of Casa de las Fuentes in April 2025.

Holy Week in Guatemala is an experience like no other

Named to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2022, Holy Week in Guatemala presents an opportunity to engage in the passion, death and resurrection story of Jesus unlike anywhere else in the world. Guatemalan schools, including Escuela Integrada, and many businesses are closed for the week as community members prepare the way for Jesus’ final days.

Several components of the celebration are unique to the cultural experience of Holy Week in Guatemala.

Alfombras—carpet-like street art made of colorful sawdust, flowers and leaves—line the streets. The alfombras include scenes from the Bible and detailed patterns. The designs are planned out over several months and laid out on Holy Thursday, involving community members to layer the colors using large stencils and wooden slats. The alfombras are ultimately a symbol of impermanence as the Good Friday processions walk through the designs, leaving sawdust remnants behind.

Processions begin on Palm Sunday and conclude on Easter Sunday. During the processions, large andas (similar to floats) are carried through the streets, depicting scenes from Jesus’ passion. The andas—weighing up to three tons and up to 80 feet in length—do not have a motor or truck bed to carry them forward, and are, instead, carried on the shoulders of up to 100 people. The longest procession takes place on Good Friday and can last up to 12 hours as it journeys through the streets of Antigua.

Families spend time together during Holy Week, often making traditional foods for the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday. Garbanzos dulces (sweet chickpeas), curtidos (pickled vegetables), pan de yemas (egg yolk bread), and torrejas (Guatemalan version of French toast) are a few of the food items prepared during Holy Week.

The culmination of the celebration is Easter Sunday, when the andas are decorated with thousands of colorful flowers and the processions include triumphant music and fireworks. In Guatemala, Holy Week is celebrated by members of every social class and background, with an understanding of mutual respect and appreciation. Ultimately, the celebration is an annual reminder of the darkest days of Jesus’ passion and the joyful celebration of His resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Torrejas Recipe

Recipe from Cuscun Cooking Workshops in Antigua

Torrejas is a Guatemalan dessert typically prepared during Holy Week. It is made with pan de yema (sweet bread), eggs, milk and a honey syrup.

Ingredients

6 sweet rolls

3 eggs

1 ¼ cups of sugar

4 ¼ cups of water

2 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Raisins

 Recipe

  1. Toast the sweet rolls in the oven so they don’t fall apart when dipped in the honey
  2. Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat the whites until stiff peaks form
  3. Then, dip the rolls in the egg mixture and fry them in oil
  4. Once all the rolls are fried, place them in a colander and rinse them with boiling water to remove excess oil
  5. Let them drain
  6. To prepare the honey syrup, place the water, sugar, and two cinnamon sticks in a saucepan. Bring to a boil
  7. Finally, dip the French toast in the honey syrup and let it simmer
  8. To serve, place the French toast in a shallow bowl, top with a raisin, and drizzle it with the honey syrup

Can I pick the student I want to sponsor?

GRACES Sponsorship Program has some unique facets to it, one of which is that our Sponsorship Coordinator will match a sponsor with a student who is most in need. This means that you may not get to pick the exact student you want to sponsor. We do this intentionally to avoid hurt feelings amongst the students who do not get “picked”.

Questions about how students are selected are ones we answer frequently, along with questions like:

  • How do I write and send a letter to my sponsored student?
  • Will my student know that I am their sponsor?
  • Are sponsors allowed to send money directly to the family?
  • Why might my sponsored student stop attending Escuela Integrada?
  • And many more

For answers to these questions and others, check out our newly developed Sponsorship FAQ resource! The questions and answers are available on the Sponsor page of our website and as a downloadable PDF. Have a question we missed? Email it to sponsorships@wearegraces.org!

[button url=”https://wearegraces.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Sponsorships-FAQ-2026.pdf” text=”Download the PDF”][button url=”https://wearegraces.org/sponsor” text=”Visit the Sponsor page”]

If you are interested in sponsoring a child, email fernanda@wearegraces.org to get connected with a student in need.

March 29-April 5: Holy Week

    • April 2-5: GRACES office closed

April 26-May 3: Global Outreach Week at FMC Tulsa

    • Stop by to see Hannah on Sunday, April 26!

April 28-May 3: Canyon Springs Vision Trip