Festivals in Spain

Landscape of Spain

Spain means passion, hospitality and originality. Spanish likes to share their history and culture with an open smile to all the visitors.

Torrevieja is famous in Spain for
many fiestas firework

Spain is one of the most diverse countries in Europe, from beautiful landscapes to charming towers, from fascinating sights to amazing historic heritage cities. Spanish people have a zest for life that can be seen in the varied and exciting activities, day and night, in all major cities.

The last bull fighting in Barcelona, 2011

Fiestas are a major part of Spanish life. Each city and region in Spain has its own special fiesta, often honoring a patron saint. One of the most popular traditions in Spain is bull fighting.

According to Associated Newspapers Ltd (2011) “Now the controversial sport has been declared 'an artistic discipline and cultural product', protecting it from mounting pressure by animal rights campaigners who want the practice banned.”  The ban takes place on 1^st January 2012. On September 2011, Catalonia celebrated its last bull-fight after 624 years of bull-fighting. The tradition is already illegal in Catalonia after a law was passed against it because of making animal cruelty and danger.

The Pamplona bull running takes place on July every year. This celebration takes place on the balcony of the Casa Consistorial in Pamplona. 

Bull running in Spain

Thousands of people dress in white and red, playing music, dancing the mayor's official announcement that the fiestas have begun. The actual run stretches from the corral at Santo Domingo where the bulls are kept, to the bullring where they will fight that same afternoon. The length of the running is 825 meters.

Another best known fiesta in Spain is a group of people throwing tomato over each other as known as La Tomatina (Tomato Fight).

Most of the Spanish and visitor are played with tomato

La Tomatina tomato fights in Bunyol near Valencia happen every year on the last Wednesday in August. During the forties in Bunyol main town square, a number of friends started a tomato fight for a unknown reason. It is unclear whether the initial volley was aimed at city official or simply pedestrians unlucky to be in the line of fire. However, everyone was having a great time, in fact, from the day forward; the fiesta has been celebrated annually.

Apart from these, Spanish have other weird fiesta that celebrate in the country. There are The Baby Jumping Festival, Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme (Near Death Festival), Las Fallas (Festival of Fire) and so on.

The Baby Jumping Festival 

A men who dressed like a devil to jump across the baby

Since 1620, this festival is part of the celebrations held all over Spain for the Catholic festival of Corpus Christi. The origins of Baby-Jumping Festival are vague, but the event is an example of the mix of traditional Spanish folklore and religion. In the Baby-Jumping Festival (El Colacho), anyone who has a newborn addition to their family can bring their baby along to this festival which has taken place on an annual basis in June. 

The man jumped across the baby who laid on the street.

In this fiesta, the babes are laid on the ground in swaddling clothes and grown men incarnate devils jump over the infants. They believe this is supposed to cleanse the infants of all evil doings. Anyone who is not blessed with receiving this protection during their early childhood and has lived life looking over their shoulder waiting for bad things to happen or illness to strike can, in their adulthood, choose to take part in an exercise of jumping through fire on 21st December in Granada, known as the Hogueras. This is intended to protect them from illness.

Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme 

The people were get into to the coffin and carry by
their family and friend
 and walk to the church

Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme also known as Near Death Festival. It usually takes place on July 29th in the town of Las Nieves, Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain. The purpose of this festival is to appreciate the Santa Marta for saving their life. This festival is honors by Catholic tradition because Marta was travelled to Galicia to spread the Christian faith and she was performed lifesaving miracle and finally became Santa Marta (the Saint of resurrection). 

The parade to the church- Virgin Santa Marta

For those who had near death experience, they have to attend the festival with the coffins. They will get into the coffins and it will carry by their family members and friend. Opposite, they need to carry the coffin if they do not have any family members and friends. And they will walk all the ways to church- Virgin Santa Marta.

Spain is rich in the mixture of distinct regions with strong identities. Other than the flamenco, bull-fighting, bull-running, La Tomatina, The Baby Jumping festival, Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme and Festival of Fire, there are plenty of other events that can be discover.  Spain features one of Europe’s most beautiful and varied landscapes, incredible history, language, food, music, festivals, lifestyle and so much more.

Written by Leow Bee Lian