So, a few weeks ago I was throwing around some ideas for possible holiday locations this year, & spain was looking like a good bet, so in the mean time I’ve been doing more thinking aout stuff I could do out there.
One of the big draws, which I mentioned before, was the country’s history, & like most old nations Spain has lots of of interesting historical sites, festivals and customs which have evolved over the centuries.
Spanish Festivals
It would be easy to point at some of the annual Spanish traditions and poke fun at their eccentricity, and I must admit I was tempted, but then I remembered that I come from the country which has brought the world Cheese Rolling and Morris Dancing; I think most countrys have their little quirks and oddities and, although from a 21st century perspective it can be easy to be derisive of these quaint old traditions, it’s important to remember that, almost universally these strange old customs sprang up for reason, which presumably seemed good at the time, and that their preservation gives us a glimpse into a past.
Moros y Cristianos
These go back to the battles between the Christians and the Moors during the days of the reconquista, and are actually observed, in some form or another, in lots of Spanish towns. The most famous of these takes place in Alcoy, Alicante, and, from what I’ve heard, is well worth checking out. The event commemorates the Battle of Alcoy (1275) in which the Moors, led by Al Azraq, were defeated, and forced to lift their siege of Alcoy, when, according to the legends, St George miraculously appeared to aid the Christian defenders. From the research I’ve done it sounds like the best way to take in this one is to sort out a hotel and car hire in Alicante, and then travel to Alcoy rather than base oneself in the town itself.
Unfortunately it doesn’t look like I’m likely to catch it this year, what with it taking place between the 21st & 24th of April. Still, it’s one to put on my “one day” list.
Las Hogueras de San Juan
Although this festival’s name translates as “the Bonfires of St John”, it actually pre-dates christianty, being a celebration of the Summer Solstice. Although the festival is celebrated throughout Spain it is especially well observed in coastal regions where it is traditional to head to a beach, light a bonfire, & party through the night. Alicante is particularly well known for its lavish celebrations on St John’s day (June 24th), which include spectacular fireworks displays followed by the burning of large, wood and paper mache, figures in the city’s main squares and plazas. Although the 24th is the focal point of the festivities Alicante’s celebrations actually run from 20th to the 29th of June with drinking, dancing and fireworks forming the core of each night’s revelries. This one sounds like a huge amount of fun, and is definitely something I want to experience, if not this year then certainly before I get too much older!
La Tomatina Tomato Festival
This event which takes place in the village of Bunol, near Valancia, in the last week of August each year, is basically a massive free-for-all food fight (tomatos obviously). The tomato fight happens on the Wednesday lunch time in the town centre and surrounding streets, such are the number of revelers, but the celebrations themselves actually start several days earlier. Unlike a lot of quirky traditions this one isn’t that old, and has only been around since the 1940s, when some youngsters started throwing tomatoes during an entirely unconnected parade. The following year they repeated the tomato fight, despite the local council’s best efforts to prevent it, and over the years it became an accepted event in its own right. These days the population of Bunol swells from ~9,000 to ~30,000 each year during the festival, making it a strong contender for the title of World’s biggest food fight.
Baby Jumping Festival
Yes, really, a baby Jumping festival! this is actually the town of Castillo de Murcia’s own variation on the catholic festival of Corpus Christi. The event involves men dressed as the Devil leaping over babies which have been placed upon the ground, a process which supposedly protects the newborns from the evil. Maybe I’m not being fair, or am missing something, but this one doesn’t really appeal to me that much, and I honestly can’t see myself bothering with it, it just sounds like an extremely unpleasant accident waiting to happen, but then maybe that’s because I’m old and boring.
I have to say that the first two are the ones which most appeal to me, and as I’ve missed Moros y Cristianos (this year) it’s looking like if I do visit Spain this year it’s going to be around mid-summer to catch the Las Hogueras de San Juan, that really does sound like my kind of party, and from the sounds of it Alicante is the place to be for that one. I haven’t made any solid plans yet (I guess I should get around to doing that at some point soon or it will be a mid-winter break, rather than a summer holiday, by the time I get my act together.)