Burning the Devil Day

December 7 is "Quema Del Diablo." This means "Burn the Devil." It is a uniquely Guatemalan celebration as far as we know. The tradition dates back before Europeans found their way to this part of the world. Its orgins are indigenous but have been melded into Catholic traditions. It is held the day before "Immaculate Conception Day." Some say the idea is to chase off the devil before the Virgin Mary is celebrated and the Christmas season begins. Others say it is a yearly observance of cleaning out the sin and garbage in one's life.

What actually happens is that at 6 p.m. on December 7 a human-sized paper mache Devil filled with firecrackers is burned in the middle of an intersection in Antigua. Ironically the burning takes place in front of a gas station. We squashed ourselves through the crowd to see the devil burn. We missed the lighting, but inched our way up close enough to climb onto a fire truck and watch the figure burn. At one point the Devil fell of his perch and a cheer went up from the crowd. He then began to pop and fizz as the firecrackers caught.

Around the rest of the city, many families burn trash and junk in front of their homes. Some burn Devil pinatas filled with firecrackers. This is supposed to chase the Devil out of one's home. Yes, it is nice, safe, family-oriented celebration! According to tradition, anyone who doesn't collect their junk and burn it in front of their house risks having the Devil hide in their home after having been chased out of their neighbors homes. We doubt many Guatemalans believe this, of course, but so the tradition goes.

The next day there are processions and a mass for the Virgin Mary in honor of her Immaculate Conception. We didn't really observe this holiday, but we were serenaded in the evening by firecrackers and a few fireworks that were set off after the evening mass.

On the advise of Rick's Spanish tutor we took a bus to a small town outside of Antigua that make a "feria" or festival of the day. We watched a parade, saw a lot of traditional foods being sold, stepped into the Catholic church to observe many people praying and lighting candles, and put the kids on some fair rides. We took the bus back home, grabbed some dinner and headed to the Devil burning ceremony described above.