Cascarones abound in Guatemala, which can be only one thing! Carnival time is here!
Carnival is different in every country, and the way that Latin America celebrates Carnival is to be a bit like Mardi Gras. The celebrations lead up to Ash Wednesday, 
which will be celebrated on February 25th, 2009. Ash Wednesday leads up to what all of Latin America calls Semana Santa, or Holy Week, one of the biggest celebrations of the year.
Throughout Semana Santa every town in Guatemala boasts processions which are meant to represent the funeral march of Jesus Christ. There are also processions that depict the days leading up to Jesus’ death and the events from the point of view of Mary, who the Christian faith believe to be Jesus’ mother.
The whole town takes part in the celebratory activities. Many who aren’t even religious find Jesus during this festive time of year. But until then… Carnival is the time to party.
For those of you who don’t know cascarones are empty eggshells that have been painted and stuffed with confetti. For the weeks leading up to the main Carnival celebration (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday) eggs that are cooked are carefully cracked to keep the shell intact. Once they are dry they are filled with little bits of confetti and then sealed with a piece of tissue paper and glue.
The eggs are then decorated with paint or markers. To me they are kind of reminiscent of Easter eggs, although they are actually completely different.
Cascarones are the weapons of choice of young children during Carnival in Guatemala. They sneak up on you, dressed in little costumes, and smash the confetti filled egg, cracking it on your head and sending confetti down your shirt and all through your hair.
Basically, the Carnival celebration is the last day for kids to get away with their naughty little acts before Lent comes.
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