Why Are Sawdust Carpets Made

04 17 edt 18 april 2014 updated.

Why are sawdust carpets made.

In some central american countries like guatemala and honduras semana santa or holy week is celebrated in a colorful fashion by creating beautiful street carpets made of sand and sawdust and. The guinness world record for longest sawdust and floral carpet was set in 2014 in guatemala city the capital. Despite the tradition s fairly contemporary origins in the town the making of sawdust carpets dates back to pre hispanic times and was later co opted by the christian faith. Guatemala s semana santa the easter festival in the former colonial capital are beyond comparison to anything in the northern hemisphere along cobblestone streets intricate carpets of colored sawdust are painstakingly laid down.

You can hear them sawing. Made of flowers colored sawdust fruits vegetables and sand the long carpets cover much of the town s central roads passing underneath the historic santa catalina arch a symbol of antigua s. You can notice the holes made by these bugs in the furnitures. If you have uncovered wooden beams on your ceiling it is possible that the sawdust comes from termites.

Termites eat wood and they leave sawdust like residue. Other cities also have street carpets at easter. Arts colorful sawdust carpets coat the streets of guatemala s cities during their iconic easter holy week processions. Later a solemn procession of roman centurions march over the carpets carrying an image of christ on the cross.

This year the country has a new reason to celebrate it has been recognized by guinness world records for producing the longest sawdust carpet in the world. 07 56 edt 18 april 2014. The carpets with the best designs decorate the path that runs from the church of san francisco to the cathedral of the immaculate conception where the first carpet was made in 1963 to celebrate. The tradition of decorating streets in this fashion began in europe and was brought to the americas by the spanish.

Tapetes de aserrín are one or more layers of colored sawdust and sometimes other additional materials laid on the ground as decoration sawdust carpets are traditionally created to greet a religious procession that walks over them. Over a mile long at 6 600 feet over 2 000 feet longer than the previous record holder it took over 5 000 volunteers and over 50 tons of dyed sawdust to produce it.