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GUATEMALA - CULTURE
Flag of Guatemala
Flag Description: There are three equal vertical bands of light blue (hoist side), white, and light blue with the coat of arms centered in the white band. The coat of arms includes a green and red quetzal (the national bird) and a scroll bearing the inscription LIBERTAD 15 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 1821 (the original date of independence from Spain) all superimposed on a pair of crossed rifles and a pair of crossed swords and framed by a wreath.
Holidays
For nine evenings before Christmas, the beat of drums and the explosion of fireworks are heard as posada ("inn") processions move through the streets. The celebration of Midnight Mass and a large supper follow the last posada on Christmas Eve.
Christmas trees first became popular in Guatemala following German immigration to the Alta Verapaz region of the country during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the arrival of Americans working for the local banana industry during the early 20th century. Children find gifts left by the Christ Child under the tree on Christmas morning (possibly a custom based on the German Christkindl tradition). Adults exchange gifts New Year's Day.
Tamales made with pork or chicken are the most popular Christmas dish in Guatemala (one Guatemalan website on the Internet claims, in fact, that "a Christmas without tamales is not Christmas"). Guatemalans also enjoy different punch drinks with ingredients such as dried fruit, raisins, prunes, dates, cinnamon, milk, and/or rum.
The children's picture book, "The Night of Los Posados" beautifully tells the tale of this tradition.
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