Christmas in Guatemala

The Christmas season in Guatemala starts on December 7 and ends on February 2, so locals leave the decorations out and enjoy festive foods for nearly two months.

Many Guatemalan Christmas traditions are unique to Latin America, such as the Posadas, launching fireworks on Christmas Eve, and burning the devil.

Guatemalan Christmas celebrations are far from solemn. People gather ten days in a row with family, friends, and neighbors to feast, sing, and share stories.

The Feast of Immaculate Conception

On December 7, Guatemalans burn an effigy of a devil, following a tradition known as La Quema del Diablo (Burning of the Devil). The model typically resembles a pinata, is about three feet tall, and always has spiky horns and a pitchfork in hand.

The origins of the tradition can be traced to colonial times, when people used to burn bonfires on October 7, during celebrations of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Initially, Guatemalans would place lanterns in front of their doors, believing the light would ward off the devil and keep him from entering the home. Over time, people began making bonfires instead of lighting lanterns.

Later, the date of the ritual was changed to December to coincide with the Feast of Immaculate Conception celebrated on December 8, nine months before the feast of the Nativity Mary, celebrating the birth of Mary, Jesus’ mother.

By burning the devil on the Eve of the Feast of Immaculate Conception, Guatemalans symbolically get rid of evil spirits and starts the holiday season with positive energy, cleaning their souls in preparation for Christ’s birth.

Posadas

Posadas Navideñas is a nine-day period leading to Christmas Eve dedicated to prayer, delicious food, and family gatherings. The tradition is observed in many Latin American countries, including Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia.

In every Guatemalan city and small town, people walk the streets of their neighborhoods at night, carrying images of Mary and Joseph, lanterns, and singing traditional hymns. The Posadas tradition marks Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

Every night, one house in the neighborhood is assigned to be Mary and Joseph’s inn. When the procession comes to the house, the host should invite everyone in, where people pray, sing Posadas songs, play games, and feast.

Food is an integral element of the Posadas tradition. Typically, people serve tamales, chuchitos, hot fruit punch, and other traditional Guatemalan foods and drinks. Everyone participating in the procession is invited to Posadas dinner, so hosts have a lot of cooking throughout the day.

Christmas Food

Food is always in the spotlight of Guatemalan Christmas celebrations. Latin women take pride in their cooking skills, and every household believes their recipes are the best. For this reason, Guatemalans happily share their culinary art pieces with extended family, friends, and neighbors.

Tamales are an all-time Latin American cuisine staple, served at every celebration, including Christmas. Tamales are stuffed with mince and rice dough envelopes steamed in plantain leaves with a combination of spices.

The dish is typically served with red sauce from chili, tomatoes, olives, sliced bell pepper, and some capers. Alternatively, tamales can be topped with black sauce from tomatoes, pork fat, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground spices.

Being native to the region, turkey is common at the Guatemalan Christmas feast. Poultry is usually garnished with apples and grapes and served with vegetables and plantain or cold on a sandwich.

Locals also favor pork. Pig is traditionally roasted whole, with apples, pineapples, and spices for a sweet flavor. Some families add wine or bourbon to the glaze or sauce.

Rompope drink is the highlight of Guatemalan Christmas dinner, made from sweet milk with eggs, spices, and rum. Guatemalans prefer fruit punch with cinnamon and bourbon to mulled wine. Kids usually drink hot chocolate or soda.

Guatemalans, like most Latin Americans, eat the King’s Cake for dessert. Another traditional Guatemalan Christmas dessert is Polvorosas, shortbread cookies with cinnamon sprinkled with sugar powder.

Borracho, a sponge cake soaked in rum syrup, is favored by adults, while kids enjoy Bunuelos – deep-fried dough balls topped with syrup.

Fireworks on Christmas Day

For Guatemalans, Christmas isn’t a time for solemn celebrations but a festival of life. After Christmas dinner, locals go outside to launch fireworks, making the entire sky sparkle in rainbow colors.

The tradition started over 30 decades ago when a popular restaurant chain in Guatemala, Pollo Compero, lit up the skies of Guatemala city with a colorful firework show, boosting the festive spirit of locals.

The show inspired many locals, and since fireworks in Guatemala are cheap and available even to kids, many households joined Pollo Compero in their efforts to create a cheerful atmosphere. The tradition acquired the name Las Luces Campero (The Campero Lights).

However, in 2021, the restaurant chain decided to spend the money intended for the firework show to feed Guatemalans in need. Still, locals continue to embrace the already beloved custom.

Guatemalans also light fireworks on December 7, after burning the devil effigy. Back in the day, people used to burn bonfires, but at some point, they decided that fireworks were more fun.

The Nativity Scene

Christmas traditions may differ among households, but one element remains unchanged – the nativity scene. You can find one in every Guatemalan home.

Guatemalans don’t buy nativity scenes at Christmas markets or on eBay – they craft the scenes themselves. People usually make them from plasticine, clay, or wood, adorned with moss and air plants.

A unique detail that distinguishes nativity scenes in Guatemala from others is sawdust dyed in different colors.

Some families set up the nativity scene during the Posadas period but don’t put Jesus in his crib until Christmas Eve, symbolically marking his birthday.

Public places, including churches, schools, shopping malls, and museums, also set up nativity scenes, often full-sized and highly realistic. If you stroll Guatemalan city streets at Christmas, you’re highly likely to see several nativity scenes.

Often, locals bring small gifts, like treats and toys, to Jesus to the Midnight Mass and place them in his crib after the service.

Midnight Mass

Like most Christians, Guatemalans attend the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. The Midnight Mass in Guatemala is a chance to greet neighbors and friends and celebrate the birth of Christ with traditional hymns and prayer.

The most devoted locals also attend the Christmas Day service in the morning, though most Guatemalans prefer to sleep in after the late feast.

Christmas Decorations in Guatemala

Guatemalans prefer natural decorations to plastic ones. People decorate their homes with evergreen branches, garlands with manzanilla, and poinsettia flowers. Poinsettia is native to Latin America and was brought to the U.S. from Mexico, so there’s never a shortage of the plant.

Although this may seem odd to people from the north, Guatemalans often use tropical flowers like orchids in decoration, which gives Christmas in Guatemala a unique touch.

Guatemalan Christmas markets sell an array of handmade ornaments, wreaths, and garlands, but also raw materials to create decorations yourself, like sawdust, moss, palm leaves, and air plants.

However, chopping down trees is illegal in Guatemala, so locals have to either buy expensive Christmas trees imported from the U.S., put up fake ones, or imitate trees from branches.

People adorn their Christmas trees with baubles, handmade paper and wood ornaments, tangerine garlands, and tinsel. City streets sparkle with a myriad of lights, presenting the public with elaborate festive displays.

Santa & Gift Exchange

Santa Claus in Guatemala isn’t as prominent a figure as in the U.S., but local kids anticipate gifts from him regardless. Guatemalan Santa is pretty similar to American Santa – perhaps, it’s the same man, considering the distance.

However, before heading to Guatemala, Santa Claus changes his transport from a sleigh pulled by reindeer to either helicopter, horse, or car. Sometimes, he also changes his red fur-trimmed suit to a lighter one because December in Guatemala is warm.

Guatemalan households rarely have fireplaces, so Santa leaves gifts for kids under the Christmas tree. Adults also exchange gifts on Christmas Eve after arriving home from church.

Epiphany in Guatemala

The nativity season isn’t over on Boxing Day in Guatemala. On January 6, Guatemalans celebrate Epiphany or the Three Kings Day.

This day commemorates the Three Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to infant Jesus and warned Mary and Joseph about King Herod’s plan to kill Jesus, allowing them to flee to Egypt.

Many families exchange gifts on Three Kings Day rather than on Christmas Eve, and kids often receive gifts twice. Churches ring bells, locals light fireworks, and children go caroling.

The Kings Cake or Bolo Rei is a must on Epiphany, also often made for Christmas. Guatemalans borrowed the recipe from the Portuguese – it includes dried fruit, orange blossom syrup, nuts, and, often, brandy or rum.

The cake is topped with sugar powder and cocktail cherries. The host hides a tiny baby Jesus figurine inside the cake, and whoever finds it is believed to have a lucky year.

Some Guatemalan families put away their nativity scenes after Epiphany, while others leave them up until Candlemas on February 2.