Numerous popular festivals are held in Catalonia throughout the year, following a cycle based mainly on the two solstices – Christmas in winter and the Eve of Saint John at midsummer – and the two equinoxes, marked by the Carnival, Holy Week and Easter in spring, and the wine harvest and the Feast of All Saints in autumn. Many festivals – known as the Festa Major – recall the feast day of the patron saint of each locality while others relate to particular arts and crafts, farming and seafaring. There are also many fairs and markets. Some keys feature of the proceedings is fire, parades with giants and dwarfs, a vast range of folk dances, foremost among which is the Catalan national dance, the sardana, spectacular human towers built by castellers (human castles); ancient liturgical performances including Passion plays or popular Christmas plays or pastorates.

Spring

Semana Santa (Holy Week)
Dates: 10-17 Apr 2006

The main Easter event of Catalonia is the blessing of the palms on diumenge de rams (Palm Sunday). Crowds surge into cathedrals clutching bleached palm fronds bought from stalls. Boys carry long wafting palmons, while girls have graceful palmes woven into intricate designs. Once home, the palms are hung on balconies to ward off evil. On Easter Sunday, godparents dole out the mones: originally, marzipan cakes decorated with boiled eggs, but these days more likely to be a chocolate cartoon character.

Further Catalan festivals in Spring:

Summer

Sant Joan
Date: Night of 23 June

The beach is the place to be for an orgy of all-night pyromania on the eve of Sant Joan (St John the Baptist). Being summer solstice, it’s traditional to stay up until dawn, munching coca de Sant Joan- flat, crispy bread topped with candied fruit- accompanied by endless bottles of cava while partying by the light of huge bonfires. Don’t miss the Night of Fire, where devils incite the crowds to dance around the bonfires before everyone drunkenly heads down to the beach at dawn for skinny-dipping.

Further Catalan Festivals in Summer:

Autumn

Diada Nacional de Catalunya
Date: 11 Sept

Catalan National Day commemorates Barcelona’s capitulation to the Bourbon army in the 1714 War of the Spanish Succession, a bitter defeat that led to the repression of many Catalan institutions. It lost some of its vigor but is still a day for national reaffirmation, with the Catalan flag flying on buses and balconies. There are several marches throughout the city, the epicenter being the statue of Rafael Casanova (who directed the resistance) on the Ronda Sant Pere. Many make a pilgrimage to the monastery at Montserrat, the spiritual heart of the region and an important guardian of Catalan language and culture during the dictatorship.

Festes de la Mercè
Dates: 18-24 Sept

The Lady of Mercy was once a small religious parade in honor of the patron saint of the city. Nowadays it has gradually swollen to a web-long party. The event opens with castellers (human castles) followed by over 400 events including gegants, capgrosses, sardanes (Catalonia’s folk dance) and the biggest and boldest carrefoc (‘fire run’, groups of devils dance through the streets, brandishing tridents that spout fireworks). The highlights of this immense event include dazzling firework displays along the beach, a seafront air show and the solidarity festival. Catalonia is full of free concerts, sporting events, art exhibitions, children’s activities, and street entertainers.

La Castanyada
Dates: 31 Oct-1 Nov

All Saints’ Day and the evening before are known as the Castanyada after the traditional treats of castanyes (roast chestnuts) along with moniatos (roast sweet potatoes) and panellets (small almond balls covered in pine nuts). The imported tradition of Halloween has rocketed in popularity of late, and there are now several celebrations around town. The largest is in Poble Espanyol, with music and a monsters’ ball late into the witching hours.

Further Catalan festivals:

Winter

Nadal & Sant Esteve (Christmas Day & Boxing Day)
Dates: 25/26 Dec

The Catalan equivalent of the Christmas midnight mass is the missa del gall (cockerel’s mass), held at dawn. Later, the whole family enjoys a traditional Christmas feast of escudella i carn d’olla (a meaty stew), seafood and roast truffled turkey, finishing off with great ingots of turrón. The caga tió gives small gifts but the real booty doesn’t arrive until the night of 5 January.

Cap d’Any (New Year’s Eve)
Date 31 Dec & 1 Jan

During the day of New Year’s Eve, look out for L’Home dels Nassos, the man who has as many noses as days of the year – it being the last day, the sly old fox has only one – who parades the streets and throws sweets to all the children he sees. At night, bars and discos charge hoiked-up prices, but free public celebrations are held around the region. At midnight everyone stops swilling cava and starts stuffing 12 grapes into their mouths, one for every chime of the bell. Wear red underwear for good luck.

Further Catalan festivals:

Catalonia’s popular festivals and folklore have a personality of their own and have stayed alive and full of vitality. In the town and village festivals, which are usually held in summer, you can visit dances, fireworks, religious services and parades. It is worth consulting the local tourist offices to attend the countless festivals and recreational events that take place over the year.