Saturday, March 22, 2008

Good Friday in Gracias



One part of the Easter celebration, in our part of Honduras, is the creation of sand and sawdust carpets early on the morning of Good Friday. After the carpets are created, a procession, remembering the "Stations of the Cross," walks along them, which of course, destroys the carpets.

In the city of Comayagua especially, this tradition has become a very artistic endeavor, and a huge tourist event. Here are some links, to Good Friday photos from other cities in Honduras:

Tegucigalpa

Tegucigalpa

Comayagua

Comayagua

Comayagua

Comayagua

Here in Gracias, this event is not commercialized, and the level of artistry is not as high. The carpets (generally more of a carpet runner, or pathway in our city, rather than separate rugs) have more the feel of folk art. The designs remind me of the symbols people in the mountains often paint on their houses.















We left town on Friday morning, before the carpets were completed, so I don't have pictures of the procession. Tomorrow, I hope to post pictures of the "stations" which were set up along the path of the procession.

2 comments:

lola said...

Thank you for the beautiful pictures, I enjoyed them! I really like your blog.

Suzanne said...

What an interesting and beautiful tradition.