Due to cultural exchange, you will also see depictions of Mayan symbols presented in some of the alfombras, like a quetzal (the national bird of Guatemala). They are created to "greet" the processions as they pass over the alfombras.
The source of Catholic traditions comes from when the conquistadors of Spain came to colonize the New World. However, a really cool part of this is that the Mayan people already had similar traditions, and what we see now is a merger of these traditions. The sawdust carpets come from European traditions, but Mayans added flowers and other local plants. The same can be said of the processions, with the original idea from Europe, but the Mayans had their own modifications to floats, with poles and canopies.
As mentioned earlier, many alfombras utilize local plants in their designs. On top of that, many of the Mayan iconographies or pictures utilize animals, plants, or other attributes of the Guatemalan environment.
