Burning of the Devil Day

Taking the devil figure to sell.  Many were sold and burned on Friday December 7.

Burning of the Devil in the street.

Fireworks plus burning of the devil

When you burn the devil, you make way for Mary. The tradition of burning the devil began in colonial times. In anticipation of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a day which honors the Virgin Mary, those who could afford it adorned the fronts of their houses with lanterns. The poor, who could not afford such lanterns, would clean out their homes, gathering all their garbage, and

would burn the year’s rubbish in front of their houses – the idea being to burn all of the bad from the previous year and to start anew from the ashes. Over time it was formalized and in addition to individual piles of garbage, communities started to burn effigies of the devil to clear the way for Mary’s feast.

In cities throughout the country, the devil is burned at the stroke of six o’clock in the evening. In La Antigua, head early to the east end of 4a Calle Oriente to secure a spot to view the spectacle. In Ciudad Vieja, one of the former capitals of Guatemala, a devil three stories tall is constructed and burned in the city square!

 

The burning occurs at 6 pm on December 7, you can set your watch by the 6 pm starting time.