Spanish festivals and fiestas are a celebration of what it means to be Spanish, to be part of and share a common national and local history and culture… so with that said, let’s explore some of the many celebrations that take place throughout this country colorful.

January

The year of Spanish festivals and holiday celebrations kicks off in January with La Fiesta de la Reconquista (Festival of the Conquest) in Granada to celebrate the city’s recovery from the Moors in 1492 with a series of parades outside the historic town hall. On January 5, in most cities in Spain, the Cavalcade of the Three Kings takes place to celebrate the arrival of the Three Kings on the afternoon before Three Kings’ Day, bringing gifts for the children. On January 17, the day of San Antonio Abad, patron saint of animals, is celebrated throughout the Peninsula, followed by the festival of San Fabián and San Sebastián on January 20, when the entire town of San Sebastián dresses up. On January 29 Fiesta de San Valero patron saint of the city of Zaragoza where locals and visitors share pieces of a giant roscón (a sweet cake made of flour, sugar, milk, eggs).

February

Spanish festivals in February start with the Carnival which is celebrated throughout Spain, the Madrid Carnival was revived in 1976 after being banned by the Franco Regime. It may not be one of the biggest but it is still a lot of fun, I remember going with one of my many cousins ​​to many of the celebrations, especially the one that ends on Ash Wednesday with the traditional Burial of the Sardine. ) Parade where all the participants are dressed in black and carry a cardboard sardine in a coffin to be buried in the Fuente de los Pajaritos symbolizing the beginning of Lent. If you are looking to be part of the Carnival celebrations, the biggest ones take place in Barcelona, ​​Cádiz, Jerez and Sitges. Throughout the month of February you can attend the Seville Tapas Fair, the city of Seville is dedicated to catering to tapas lovers and provides a perfect opportunity for visitors to sample authentic Spanish cuisine. Towards the end of the month, the Jerez Flamenco Festival takes place, which begins on February 25 and ends on March 12. Thousands of flamenco students gather here every year to attend workshops and classes, a unique opportunity to learn from the teachers. Even if you’re not lucky enough to get a student invitation if you like flamenco, it’s worth making the trip to see some of the most famous dancers of our time perform at the Theater Villamarta.

March

Spain has parties and festivals throughout the month on March 15 we have Las Fallas in Valencia a week of succession of parades and other activities that culminate on March 19, the Night of Fire, with the burning of the giant papier-mâché figures to Chase away the winter demons.

april

April has some of the biggest celebrations, Holy Week or Holy Week the week before Easter which lasts 10 days and ends on the most impressive Resurrection Sunday (Easter Sunday) in Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, Cuenca, Jerez and Zamora. Seville’s April Fair takes place this year from April 3 to May 8, a colorful celebration that includes Horse Parades in which local girls dressed in flamenco dresses parade in beautiful carriages, flamenco shows, bullfights of bulls and capers in the streets. We cannot forget the Moors and Christians festivities that take place in several cities on the Spanish coast, the most famous being Alcoy, Alicante, where the festivities take place between April 22 and 24, reliving the battle between Moors and Christians that took place place in the area many centuries ago. Ending the month on April 27 we have the celebration of the Virgin of Monserrat in Catalonia declared patron saint of Catalonia by Pope Leo XIII.

May

At the beginning of May, the Cheese Fair is held in Trujillo where you can taste cheeses not only from the area but from the world. In mid-May, the Spanish Festival La Feria del Caballo takes place in Jerez, an event visited by thousands that highlights the city’s equestrian heritage. The Fair also includes a large number of bullfighting and flamenco shows. During this month there is a low-key event that takes place in Córdoba called the Concursos de los Patios or Concurso de Patios Populares which is held during the second or sometimes the third week of May by the residents of the old town. they open their private family patios to visitors. Meanwhile, Madrid celebrates the Fiesta de San Isidro which marks the start of the bullfighting season, a week-long celebration of parades, music, food fairs with dancing and bullfights. At the end of May beginning of June, the Romería del Rocío takes place in the region of Andalusia, a pilgrimage on foot or by carriage to the sanctuary of the Virgen del Rocío in Huelva.

June

At the beginning of June we find the Christian festival of Corpus Christi, that is, the body of Christ, with some of the most important processions that take place in Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Toledo, Malaga, Seville and Granada. We cannot forget the Sunday after Corpus Christi where El Colacho, an unusual festival in Spain, better known as the Baby Jump Festival, is celebrated in Castrillo De Murcia. The babies are placed on mattresses and grown men dressed as demons jump on the babies in order to cleanse them of all their evil deeds. In Huelva we have La Romería del Rocío. The arrival of the summer solstice is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks in places such as the festival of Las Hogueras de San Juan in Alicante, a smaller version of the Fallas de Valencia, Las Noches de San Juan or the Noche de San Juan in Zaragoza. where bonfires and fireworks are lit as families and friends gather in the streets to celebrate, and Barcelona’s Noches de San Juan or La Nit de Sant Joan, where thousands gather on the beach to light bonfires and celebrate until sunrise. If you want to take part in a unique celebration, head to Haro, La Rioja, for the Spanish Festival celebration that takes place on June 29, when locals and tourists prepare for the wine battle of their lives. The fighting continues for several hours until around noon, when the crowd heads downtown for a kind of mini-lockdown.

July

As we know, the famous Spanish July festival takes place in Pamplona with the bullfight (Fiesta de San Fermín), which always starts on July 7 and lasts for a week. Córdoba hosts the Cordoba Guitar Festival or Guitar Festival of Cordoba from July 6 to 25, an international event that has many guitar masters. The Fiesta del Carmen is celebrated in coastal towns such as Nerja and Fuengirola on July 16 to commemorate the Virgen del Carmen patron saint of sailors and fishermen. Towards the end of July, on the 24th and 25th, the Fiesta de Santiago takes place in Santiago de Compostela where the faithful gather to see the great Botafumeiro or huge censer of the cathedral that represents the Offering of the King to the Apostle and see the incredible castle of fireworks in the Plaza del Obradoiro. If you like jazz, you might consider attending the San Sebastian Jazz Festival or Jazzaldia at the end of July 21-25. The performances take place every day in the Plaza de La Trinidad in the old town.

August

Spanish festivals in August begin in Vitoria, the week-long celebration of the Festival de La Virgen Blanca (White Virgin) begins on August 4 and runs through the 9 culminating in a human-style puppet rising above the crowd in the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca. There is also La Fiesta del Agua celebrating San Roque in the afternoon, hoses, hydrants and buckets are brought for a great water fight. You can also attend the Concurso de Hombres Fuertes and try lots of Basque food during Bilbao’s Aste Nagusia celebration, which lasts for nine days starting on the 20th of the month. Let’s not forget the famous La Tomatina Festival in Buñol, Valencia, on August 31, where you will have a tomato throwing fight with very few rules… chance.

September

September The Spanish Fiestas begin with La Fiesta de La Vendimia (Festival del Jerez de Jerez) on the first Saturday of the month in Jerez celebrating the Jerez vintage, including the blessing and ceremonial crushing of a basket of grapes. For its part, the Valencia Rice Festival kicks off on the second Sunday of the month with its international paella contest. Meanwhile, in Barcelona the celebration of La Merce takes place, its main annual festival, with human towers, some of them up to 10 stories high, fireworks, processions and dance performances. Then, on September 21, the San Sebastian Film Festival begins, an event of international renown.

october

October kicks off with a surfing competition on the Basque Coast, the ASP World Tour Billabong Pro. October 12 is Hispanic Day, this day celebrations are held throughout the Peninsula that commemorate the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the New World in 1492. Also in October the celebration of the Virgen del Pilar is celebrated, which lasts seven days, among which the events that take place are bullfights, fireworks and concerts. Food lovers flock to O Grove de Galicia’s Seafood Exaltation Festival to sample delicious Galician seafood. If you don’t like seafood, you can choose to attend the Saffron Rose Festival in Consuegra to celebrate the harvest of the flower.

November

November 1st is Día de Todos Los Santos or All Saints Day which is celebrated everywhere with one of the biggest celebrations taking place in Cadiz. In Cantabria the Fiesta del Orujo is celebrated with lots of food and drink, the locals dress in their typical costumes and there is music and dancing. Towards the end of the month and in anticipation of the Christmas holidays, the Christmas Market is installed in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, where more than 100 stalls are set up selling everything from religious artifacts to strange costumes to celebrate the Day of the Holy Innocents on the 28th. from December. .

December

Christmas in Spain is great, on December 21 the Bonfires of Granada and Jaén take place where attendees jump over the bonfires to protect themselves from diseases. The Christmas lottery draw takes place on December 22, a tradition that dates back to 1812. Christmas is a very familiar holiday in Spain that begins with Nochebuena (New Night) on December 24, I remember those nights As if it were yesterday, our whole family (a large one over 25 years old) gathered and celebrated eating, drinking and being together. December 28 is the day of the Holy Innocents or the equivalent of April’s Fools. December ends with a big New Year’s Eve celebration and its tradition of eating the 12 grapes for good luck. As the New Year approaches, families gather in front of the television with their grapes and at 12 seconds to midnight the countdown begins, every time the clock at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol strikes a new second each Spaniard eats a great for a total of 12 grapes, a tradition believed to bring good luck in the New Year.