GUATEMALA CITY, Dec 1 — Guatemala’s Holy Week — a vibrant celebration that mixes Mayan rituals with Catholic religious fervour — was given Unesco heritage status on Wednesday.

Despite its name, the festival actually stretches over six weeks, reaching a fever pitch at Easter as the Central American country is transformed by extravagant processions, vigils, and the laying of brightly coloured carpets throughout the streets.

"We experience Holy Week differently to the rest of the world,” Guatemala’s Culture Minister Felipe Aguilar told AFP of the Unesco decision, which was announced on Twitter.

He highlighted that the country’s customs, like its food, music, and art, are the result of a "cultural fusion” between Catholicism and the ancestral beliefs of the Mayan civilisation, from which 42 per cent of Guatemalans are descended.

The celebration of Holy Week began in Guatemala in the 16th century with the Spanish conquistadors, but the native Mayans mixed in their traditions and worldview, making it "unique,” said Aguilar.

Added to the mix were the traditions of Afro-Guatemalans.

Every Good Friday in northwestern San Andres Sajcabaja, some 15 penitents crawl on their knees for about three miles (five kilometers) with their faces covered and with thorns on their heads and backs, to seek forgiveness for their sins.

To prevent these "crawlers” from hurting their knees, thread rugs are placed on the floor.

There are also processions in which thousands of faithful dressed in purple or black march with immense floats portraying biblical scenes and messages.

Families spend hours constructing intricate pine-needle carpets which use brightly-coloured sawdust or flowers to create a fleeting work of art that disappears under the crush of the faithful as they march to the sounds of a hand-crafted oboe, drums, and sacred music.

At home, traditional dishes are cooked, while stalls pop up around churches and processions to sell food.

Fernando Barillas, of the Guatemalan Association of Secular Cucuruchos — referring to the conical hats that some marching in the processions wear — said there was "nothing bigger” in terms of celebrations in the country, and that Holy Week surpassed even Christmas.

Barillas said that despite generational changes and a decrease in Catholicism in favour of the evangelical church, the Holy Week tradition "remains strong and rooted” in Guatemalan popular culture.

Unesco’s decision is a "fair, necessary and important recognition,” he added. — AFP