Holidays

Heavily attended fairs and religious festivals are scheduled in every part of Guatemala throughout the year

• Semana Santa (Holy Week): marked by festivals throughout the country; many Guatemalans travel to Antigua to the great Baroque cathedral


• National Day of Independence: celebrated across the country with fireworks, dances, parades, football, and cockfights


• All Saints' Day: unique traditions; giant kites are flown in the cemetaries, feasts with a traditional food known as fiambre, a salad made from cold cuts, fish, and vegetables, horse faces and traditional dancing


• Weekly market days in Indian Villages are important social gatherings; one of the best known is the market in Chichicastenango