A letter from Philip and Bacilia Beisswenger in Guatemala
Christmas 2010
Grace to you, and peace from Guatemala!
The giant Arbol Gallo.
The kickoff for the holidays here is the lighting of the giant Arbol Gallo (Rooster Tree). No, this event doesn’t have Mayan or colonial roots. The Arbol Gallo tradition was started decades ago by Guatemala’s largest brewery. It’s like most official Christmas trees, except that instead of a star, it’s topped by an illuminated rooster’s head, the logo of the popular Gallo beer. These trees are erected in cities all over the country to the delight of the general public.
The commercial gaudiness of the Arbol Gallo amused me at first. Then, in keeping with the Church’s historic practice of appropriating worldly symbols, I thought it should be converted into something holier.
For the ancients, roosters symbolized new beginnings. Their crowing hailed the sun’s victory over night and the exciting possibilities of another day. Some of this symbolism is found in the gospel story. When Peter betrayed Jesus, the cock’s crow didn’t only point out Peter’s failure. It also signaled to him the advent of a new dawn. Jesus saw to it that, in Peter’s darkest moment, a sign of the resurrection was there for him.
Signs of a new day are needed in Guatemala, where darkness persists. Fourteen years ago a civil war ended, along with military atrocities against the poor and their advocates. Yet spirals of violence didn’t stop; they just began to spin in a different deadly direction.
Today Guatemala has one of the world’s worst homicide rates — three times that of Mexico. Once again, the poor bear the brunt of the violence. With the government hampered by chronic corruption and inadequate resources, 96 percent of murders go unsolved. Drug traffickers and organized gangs run rampant, especially in the capital. People wonder if this beautiful country isn’t tottering on the brink of failed-state status.
Under circumstances like these, despair could easily set in. That’s why the rooster’s crow is such a fitting symbol for Guatemala. And, as anyone who’s been here can attest, roosters are heard all over the place. Perhaps it’s God’s plan that they be dispersed into every neighborhood, repeating the same refrain: “The dawn is coming! The dawn is coming!”
That doesn’t mean we should all parade around the Arbol Gallo. For many of us, our festivities don’t include buying six-packs of suds. Anyway, we’d rather emphasize who’s in the manger — Jesus — not what’s on the tree.
Guatemalan Christmas celebrations usually include firecrackers and tamales. Many Catholics go to a midnight Misa de Gallo (Rooster’s Mass). The name comes from the idea that when Jesus was born, a rooster was there to witness it and announce it. Protestants — Presbyterians and others — celebrate in church too, preaching and singing cantos about the Light of the world arriving during times of darkness.
By the way, cantar in Spanish means both “to sing” and “to crow.” In some ways, maybe we and roosters share a common purpose in welcoming the birth of a new day, and a new age.
May you enjoy and share many blessings this Christmas. Please keep Guatemala’s people and churches and our family in your prayers.
Philip and Bacilia Beisswenger
Matthew, Manny, and Stefi
The 2011 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 286
