what are some traditional holidays/festivals in Guatemala?
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National Events\n\nJanuary \n\nOn January 15, the day of the Black Christ is celebrated in Esquipulas.\n\nFebruary or March\n\nLent processions begin throughout Guatemala.\n\nMarch or April\n\nLent and Easter week processions throughout Guatemala. The largest processions occur in Antigua Guatemala on Good Friday.\nMay\n\nOn May 2 and 3, the Day of the Cross is celebrated with colorful traditions al Lake Amatitlan near Guatemala City.\n\nOn May 9, Jueves de Ascencion is celebrated with traditional music, flowers and prayers at Lake Chicabal. Please be very respectful of this tradition and do not take photographs.\n\nJuly\n\nJuly 25 is the town fair in Antigua Guatemala, with parades, music and other festivities.\n\nOn July 27, the annual Rabin Ajau beauty pageant is held in Coban, with traditional dances and ancestral music.\n\nAugust\n\nOn August 15, Guatemala City celebrates the day of our Lady of the Asuncion; also several other towns, like Solola, where you can see the brotherhood of the Lady of Asuncion passing through the streets of the town with their icon on their way to the church. \n\nSeptember\n\nSeptember 15 is the national holiday to commemorate Guatemala's Independence from Spain in 1821; the largest holiday fair is in Quetzaltenago.\n\nOctober\n\nOn October 20, Guatemala celebrates the overthrow of Dictator Jorge Ubico in 1944 and the beginning of 10 years of revolution government known as the "10 years of Spring".\n\nNovember\n\nAll Saints Day, celebrated on November 1, is celebrated with unique traditions throughout Guatemala; giant kites are flown in the cemeteries of Santiago Sacatepequez and Sumpango near Antigua Guatemala. Many Guatemalans feast on a traditional food known as fiambre. An unusual horse race is held in Todos Santos Cuchumatan.\n\nDecember\n\nThe town fair in Chichicastenango culminates on December 21 with traditional dances and music. \n\nNativity scenes, hand-made Christmas ornaments and small procession known as ''posadas'' create a joyful atmosphere during December.
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1. Carnaval is a pre-Lent celebration. Lent is a period of fasting in the Christian tradition, and some foodstuffs are given up for the 40-day period. What those foods were, varied from country to country. In England it was eggs and flour, which is (a) why pancakes are made on Shrove Tuesday (to use up stocks of those foods), (b) why there are lots of Lent traditions that involve using eggs for other purposes (egg-painting, egg-rolling contests, egg-and-spoon races), and (c) why the Easter Egg tradition began (at Easter eggs could be eaten again). In other parts of the Christian world the fast involved other types of food. The word carnival has Latin roots, and derives from "carne levare" (removing of flesh = giving up meat). The carnival in New Orleans is called Mardi Gras, which comes from the French for Fat Tuesday (extra-consumption of foods on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the start of Lent).\n\n2. Cuba is just one of many countries that has a Carnival celebration, and New Orleans has already been mentioned. More well-known Carnivals include those at Rio de Janeiro (but there are also big ones in the Brazilian cities of Recife and Salvador de Bahia), and Trinidad (but most English-, French- and Dutch-speaking islands celebrate too). You will also find Carnival in the mainland countries surrounding the Caribbean basin.\n\n3. Most carnivals include parades, costumes, dancing, lively local music, food, drink, revelry, and often libertine behaviour. In the Caribbean/Latin American region Africans adapted the subdued European-style celebration, and introduced their own customs, and made it what it is today. In many cases, slaves used the costumed carnival parade as a means of surreptitiously mocking their white masters, this was especially so in Trinidad, where Carnival was banned for many years. So it has both Catholic and African animist roots.\n\n4. In Cuba, Carnival used to take place on July 26, St. Ann's Day, to commemorate that date in 1953 when Fidel Castro and his revolutionary troops attacked the Moncada barracks. You can still find websites that state this. However Granma Internacional, the official voice of the Cuban Government states clearly it takes place in February and March (just as with other countries, having varying dates each year, because Easter is a "moveable feast"). \nhttp://www.granma.cu/INGLES/2005/febrero/vier25/10carnavales.html\nhttp://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/history.htm\nhttp://encarta.msn.com/media_461565274/Carnival_Music_of_Cuba.html
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Such a day exists in most latin countries "Dia del Niño" and is celebrated on april 30th. Tradition is to go out with your own children or to give something back to society by giving to children of the least fortunate.
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The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos, Día de los Difuntos or Día de Muertos in Spanish) is an ancient Aztec celebration in memory of deceased ancestors, celebrated on November 1 (All Saints' Day) and November 2 (All Souls' Day).\n\nThe holiday is especially popular in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and is celebrated in the Philippines, in Mexican-American communities in the United States, and to a lesser extent in other Latin American countries. It is a public holiday in Brazil, where many Brazilians celebrate it by visiting cemeteries and churches, bringing flowers, lighting candles and praying.\n\nThough the subject matter may be considered morbid from the perspective of some other cultures, Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead joyfully, and though it occurs at the same time as Halloween, All Saints' Day and All Souls Day, the traditional mood is much brighter with emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, and celebrating the continuation of life; the belief is not that death is the end, but rather the beginning of a new stage in life\nThe origins of the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back to the indigenous peoples of the area, such as the Aztec, Maya, P'urhépecha, Nahua, and Totonac. Rituals celebrating the lives of ancestors have been observed by these civilizations for at least the last 3000 years. In the pre-Hispanic era, it was common to keep skulls as trophies and display them during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.\n\nThe festival that became the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the modern Catrina.
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Try the farmer's almanac, or look at a good calender.  they usually have it
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http://www.holidays.net/dailys.htm\nhttp://www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/l/li/list_of_historical_anniversaries.html\nhttp://www.earthcalendar.net/_php/datesearch.php
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Asuming that you mean December 12th... I'd say that the most important celebration is in Mexico: la Virgen de Guadalupe.
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I did a little research for you, I hope is what you were looking for:\n\nOn May 1 in the Northern Hemisphere The 'Betane Sabbat' is celebrated by Wiccans, Witches, and Druids (also known as May Day, Roodmass or Rudemass, and Walpurgisnacht) is derived from an ancient Druidic fire festivale celebrating the union of the 'Goddess' and the 'Horned God'. It also celebrates the rebirth of the 'Sun', marking the death of Winter, and the birth of Spring. Traditionally at dawn morning dew is gathered from the grass and wild flowers collected to be used in mystical rituals, potions and workings for good luck. Throughout the day, Nature is celebrated by feasting, games, poetry readings, and clockwise (desoil) dancing around the brightly decorated Maypoles.\n\nMay 4 - Fairy Day, According to Irish folklaw, it is on this day that the mischievous fairy folk emerge from their hiding places. To prevent human children from being stolen by the fairies and replaced by grotesque changelings, an offering of tea and bread must be left on the doorstep for the little people. For protection against fairies while travelling (especially through heavily wooded areas or open fields), wear your coat inside out. This is said to cause them such confusion that they are unable to cause any trouble.\n\nMay 8, in Cornwall England, the annual 'Furry Dance is performed in the streets of Helston on this day in honour of the old 'Celtic Horned God' in the guise of 'Robin Hood'. The festival which features street dancing and a daylong procession throughout the town for good fortune, is one of the oldest surviving Springtime ceremonies in the world.\n\nMay 26 - 'Sacred Well Day', is celebrated on this day, it is traditional for Pagans and Witches (especially in Ireland and Great Britain) to decorate sacred wells with wreaths and to toss offerings of flowers into the water in honour of the deities and spirits of the wells. This custom dates back prior to the Roman occupation, but is similar to their celebration of 'Fortinalia', which also took place on this day.\n\n\nI hope this helped, if you need any more information please feel free to contact me.\n\nYour Friendly Priest of Pan
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I'm Italian and married a Mexican man. We've actually had to both learn and adopt eachother's traditions/cultures. For instance during Christmas many Mexican households eat Tamales and participate in Posadas. I have since learned how to make Tamales and visit his family in Mexico to do Posadas. My family always has fish on Christmas Eve, and doesn't eat meat on Fridays. My husband has accepted this traidition as well, and now enjoys it. It think it's fun to learn all the ways people keep their culture alive, and to celebrate them. It also has opened my eyes and it will be something we share with our children.
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Hi, I'm from Guatemala, Central America.  Here are some of our local dishes:\n\nMeat, chicken or pork Tamal (Corn dough made with spices), $3\nMeat, chicken or pork Pache (Potato dough made with spices), $4\nCorn Atol (hot drink made of corn) $1\nKak'ik (turkey soup), $6\nTostadas (friend tortilla with sauce or guacamole), $1\nRellenitos (plantain dough filled with sweet beans), $2\n\nHope that helps!!
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There are nothing special sthings to do in our holidays, it depends on every city's mayor mood specially in Quito, August 10th was used to be the day where President gave the address but actually is on january 15th.\n\nThis year August 10th vacation is going to be traslated to Friday 11th so many people are going to go to beaches or other cities because the three days holiday, hope you can come to Ecuador sometime
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We say it as "Feliz dia de accion de gracias" \nNote: If by american holiday you mean USA, you need to get up to date with geography butterfly.
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A Hindu festival. Actually it would be called that in any language :)
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Try these-\nhttp://festivals.iloveindia.com/festival-calendar.html\nhttp://www.nriol.com/resources/festivals/2007calendar.asp\nhttp://www.swaminarayan.org/calendar/index.htm
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I´ll probably go out on Sat. and Sun. since in Argentina we have a national holiday on Monday and I won´t go to work.\nMy mom´s birthday party is on sat. afternoon, and on Sunday we celebrate Father´s day, so, this will probably be a family eweekend during the afternoons and a wild weekend at night.
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saturday: sábado\nsunday: domingo
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There is the Mayan Calendar!