Tradition
Primary Language- Spanish
Secondary Language- English
Occupation- Factory Worker
Residence- Honduras
Date of Performance- 4/11/16
There is saint named San Simon that came from Guatemala. It is said that he grants your wishes if you pray and praise him. So what I do is buy a candle in his honor, typically in a store that sells a ton of candles, put it on top of a pan with leaves and burn the leaves along with the candle. I then have to walk around the whole house repeating my wish in order for him to hear my wish. I have to make sure I spread the smoke around the house in order for it to work. This then leaves his aroma and leaves good luck, fortune, and money for anyone in the house.
Wendy is from Honduras but currently resides in Los Angeles, California. She learned this ritual while researching saints that grant wishes. Her family was in a tough financial situation and she could not do enough to support them so she decided to praise and pray for San Simon. Her daughter’s father was from Guatemala and he told her about the saint and his powers for wish granting. She bought candles for him and began to praise him hoping that he would help her. After her first attempt, she ended up getting a better job where she would clean office buildings. The job was not magnificent but it was enough to help her family in Honduras more. Coincidence or not, this opportunity founded her faith for San Simon and has made her perform the ritual for years on.
When performing the ritual, you must acquire the materials and spread San Simons aroma around the entire household so when you walk around the house, little by little, your chances of San SImon answering your prayers increase.
Although many know that it may not work all the time, people still keep attempting the ritual until it does because their hope never fades. If it happens once, then people will take the slightest chance they can get and keep performing for San Simon. The ritual is mostly performed by people from Central America. Countries like Guatemala where it originated, Mexico, Honduras, and Salvador. The belief within saints spreads as some people believe or do anything to get a wish granted. The ritual did not pass on well to a person such as myself because it seemed as you were playing the lottery. There seemed to be no difference between wasting money for the slight chance of money or fortune when you also have a small chance for the same earning when you buy a lottery ticket. It is thoughts like these that can end rituals of this type with the next generation, but the folklore will always still be present in countries like Guatemala.
Reeves, Benjamin. “The Drunken, Devilish Mayan God Still Worshipped in Guatemala | VICE | United States.” VICE. N.p., 18 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Another iteration where San Simon is revered as a devilish mayan god.