Sawdust carpets (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. The tradition of decorating streets in this fashion began in Europe and was brought to the Americas by the Spanish. The tradition is still found in Mexico, Central America, parts of South America and parts of the United States, but it is strongest in Mexico and Central America.

The most traditional use of these carpets is for processions related to Holy Week in Mexico and Central America (especially in Sutiaba, León, Nicaragua and Antigua Guatemala) and Corpus Christi in the United States. In Mexico, their use has been extended to processions dedicated to patron saints, especially in Huamantla, Tlaxcala and Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca as well as to Day of the Dead, especially in central Mexico.

Traditional carpets in Mexico and Central America are done with colored and uncolored sawdust; however, various other materials are used with it and sometimes in place of it. These include flowers and flower petals, pine needles, rice, fruit, colored earth, ashes and other usually organic materials. The sawdust is cleaned, soaked in water with dye then set out to dry. In the past natural dyes such as indigo, almond shells etc. were used but today most use commercial dyes. The finer and more compact the sawdust the smoother the finished work.

Most traditional carpets begin with a layer of undyed sawdust spread in a wood frame to smooth out rough surfaces such as stone paved streets and then sprayed with a light coating of water. Sometimes other materials such as sand are used for the base. Then the designs are laid over top. On smooth streets and other surfaces, the design can be drawn in chalk and filled in with the coloring materials. There are two ways to create the design, with the use of molds or stencils and freehand, sprinkling and placing the colored material. Freehand takes longer and requires more skill with the use of molds allowing for very defined and complicated designs. After the carpet is finished, it received a very light spray of water to affix the sawdust in place and keep the colors from fading.

The tradition has its origins in the feast of Corpus Christi in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. There the streets were adorned with flowers and sand, becoming more elaborate over the Middle Ages. The making of the carpets was then extended to Good Friday with images related to that day, Christ on the Cross and a grieving Virgin Mary. The Spanish brought the custom to Latin America and it was established during the colonial period as part of Holy Week celebration, especially to welcome Good Friday and Easter processions of religious icons carried through the streets. One of the reasons these were promoted was didactic, with the images telling the story of the Passion of Christ and other scenes from his life. They were accepted by the indigenous populations especially in Mexico and parts of Guatemala as it was similar to traditions of laying fruit in honor of the gods of the harvest and carpets made from feathers of exotic birds such as hummingbirds, macaws and quetzals.

Today, the making of sawdust carpets is found in Mexico, various Central American countries Honduras, Brazil and Peru. The carpets are made in some Catholic parishes of the United States. In Corpus Christi, Texas and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the tradition was brought by Holy Ghost Fathers arriving from Germany. Due to concerns about preserving the tradition, in Nicaragua in 2000, a technique to create permanent designs in sawdust was created. Exhibitions of these permanent works have been held in Sutiaba, Managua and Antigua Guatemala. These have been created with both religious and secular motifs such as landscapes and still lifes. In 2011 the Honduran Embassy in the United States held an exhibition of various carpets at an event to commemorate Holy Week.

Traditionally the sawdust afterwards is burned or thrown in rivers which causes environmental problems. For this reason some organizations adopt alternatives to sawdust. One example of this is students from Colegio Cedros Norte in Mexico City, who make the carpets for Corpus Christi using grass mats and flower petals, which is more biodegradable.

The Pittsburgh Corpus Christi carpets are dyed with environmentally safe dyes and the sawdust is traditionally re-gathered for use in church gardens.