All Saints Day - Nov. 1st

One of the Guatemala's most important holidays, All Saints Day (sometimes called Day of the Dead here) is marked by processions and festivals mixing Mayan and Catholic traditions. Most activities take place in the cemeteries, where people decorate gravesites and celebrate their dead. For a colorful spectacle, go to the village of Santiago Sacatepequez, less than an hour from the capital. At the village cemetery, locals fly huge brilliantly colored kites, representing souls rising to heaven. Notes attached to the strings carry messages to the dead and to God.

The kytes are huge and colorful, it takes several people to stand them up.

While the All Saints Day is dedicated to the dead, for the living it is a happy festival. In addition to flying kites, local residents gather together at home to eat, sing and dance. Those who have picnics at the graveyards paint the graves blue, pink or green, then decorate them with beautiful flowers. Finally, various delicious traditional foods are prepared for both the dead and the living. One of such foods is a dish called "Fiambre", which is made only once a year, for lunch.

I thought I would bring a little bit of this to our home and attempted to make the famous Fiambre. It calls for all kinds of vegetables and meats. The dressing is made with vinegar and chicken stock and seasonings.

Some of the ingredients

Fiambre! the finished product.

Butter squash cooked with Panela (chemical unprocessed sugar cane) and cinnamon. Kristen sensed that we were having a special meal tonight and before I knew it she had the table all set up. I must say that I was proud of the girls for trying and eating "some" of this. Roger went back for seconds and of course I had a feast myself and later on I enjoyed some more with my dad.

I so want my kids to learn about Guatemala and I am thankful that we get to have these special times.