Completely reconfiguring our daily routines and wading through an ever-changing onslaught of information about a pandemic isn’t how we expected to celebrate Holy Week 2020. This is not a normal year, but we are determined not to lose the hope of Holy Week. Good Friday is coming. The promise of Easter remains. This year, we’re inviting you to celebrate the goodness of Good Friday online with Dorie’s Promise.
The Traditions of Holy Week in Guatemala
For many of us, experiencing the traditional Holy Week festivities is deeply moving. Especially in places like Antigua, the music and processions perfectly combine the beauty of Guatemala’s people with their deep faith. Even outsiders are moved by participants’ reverence for church traditions and commitment to share the Holy Week story in such beautiful ways.
The Lenten season, especially Holy Week, is punctuated by grand processions winding through the city. Elaborate carpets of sawdust, flowers, and plants, known as alfombras, top the cobblestone streets and mark the path. Music fills the streets, priests march solemnly, and men carry enormous wooden floats depicting Holy Week scenes. The atmosphere is simultaneously joyous and somber.
Each year, hundreds of thousands gather in Antigua to witness and participate in the Holy Week processions. This year, no traces of sawdust fill the cobblestones and the floats remain stored. There will be no processions in Antigua.
Thankfully, Holy Week is not canceled. Good Friday is coming. Easter is Sunday. We want you to celebrate with us this year.
Celebrate the Goodness of Good Friday with Dorie’s Promise
This Friday, gather your family and join us as we create messages of hope. We want to flood social media with the goodness of Good Friday.
Creating your own Good Friday alfombra at home is simple.
- Before Friday, Gather Supplies: For surfaces like concrete, sidewalk chalk and water-based paint (such as tempera) work well. If you prefer to decorate your windows, dry erase markers and washable paint can create a stained glass effect.
- Invite your friends to join in at their homes!
- Anytime Friday, Create your Good Friday alfombra: Be creative. Have fun. Create a picture that represents hope and the promise of Easter. Fill your space with pictures that bring you joy.
- Snap a picture and share the goodness of Good Friday online.
- Tag us. @foreverchanagedinternational @doriespromise #TheGoodnessofGoodFriday
- Follow along on Facebook and Instagram to see how others are spreading hope.
