Hello Christmas 2016!

Christmas is a time of dreams and good wishes, and this year, dreams will be represented by a large mechanical dancer who lives in a music box. This icon will be appearing at three of the highlights of the holidays: the turning-on of the lights, on Plaça de Catalunya and during the Kings' Cavalcade.

Plaça de Catalunya

From 17 December to 4 January, Plaça de Catalunya will once again become a hive of free activities open to all. The large mechanical dancer will play a big role in this and every morning she will come out of her music box and perform. There will be a whole number of fixed attractions, including the giant Christmas snowball that you can go inside, a light and music show in the Bessones Fountains on Plaça de Catalunya and the illuminated dreamcatchers, installations that invite the public to write a dream and post it on them.

Everyone will also be able to express their cultural dreams for the coming year: either in a dreams mailbox next to the dancer, or digitally on Twitter using the #CulturalDreams hashtag.

As well as the fixed activities, Plaça de Catalunya will also be hosting themed activities that will change each day. So, the weekend of 17 and 18 December, it'll all be about sport, 23 and 24 will be the turn of young people, while 2 and 4 January will be for young children with the Robots Factory show.

These activities will be held alongside the Responsible Consumption (Social and Charity Economics) Fair, which will also be staging a range of activities during the holiday season.

The full programme is available at this link.

Nativity Scene

Since 25 November, Plaça de Sant Jaume has been the setting for the nativity scene, an installation created by artists Quim Domene and Toti Toronell using nine giant balls which look like decorative snowballs and pays homage to the poet J. V. Foix on the thirtieth anniversary of his death.

New Year

The farewell to 2016 will be held on Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina with a light, water and fireworks display staged through multimedia choreography with music as the star of the show.

Royal postman on the Santa Eulàlia Schooner

The Santa Eulàlia schooner is an historic ship moored at the Moll de la Fusta quay in Barcelona's Port Vell old port. A royal postman will be collecting letters for the Three Wise Men on 2, 3 and 4 January.

Christmas Carol Concert by the Orfeó Català

On 4 January at 7.30 pm, Plaça del Rei will once again host the Christmas Carol Concert by the Orfeó Català and singers from the Youth Choir and the Orfeó Català Girls' Choir.

Kings' Cavalcade

One of the Christmas highlights will be the arrival in Barcelona of the Three Wise Men on board the Santa Eulàlia schooner in the evening of 5 January. Celebrations begin at 4.30 pm at the Moll de la Fusta quay from where the procession will start, ending at 9.00 pm, but this year there's something new: The Three Wise Men will be on new floats inspired by their country of origin.

More information about Christmas in Barcelona at the following link