The bonfire festival is actually a Majorcan tradition that has been brought to this Barcelona neighbourhood
The six groups of castellers that Barcelona has take part in the special diada castellera on la Mercè’s day. Do you know all of them?
You can get a good idea about the wealth of Saint Anthony's Day through its proverbs, full of sayings and rhymes that reference different aspects of the festivities: the legend, the famous piglet and the cold weather.
Mid-January brings some of the coldest days of the year, a period which has been popularly dubbed as the ‘Setmana dels Barbuts’ [week of the bearded ones]. The days of 15, 16 an 17 January have come to be termed thus as the iconography representing...
St Stephen’s Day (Boxing Day) and cannelloni are two inseparable ideas: thousands of ‘canelons’ are made and consumed every 26 December! But this firmly rooted custom is loaded with myths, legends, arguments and technological innovations so it’s...
Arab-style desserts, medieval sweets, 19th century Italian imports and effective commercial strategies. Our Christmas fare is rich and varied, coming from a wide variety of traditions.
Why is St Stephen’s Day such a firmly rooted custom here when it isn’t celebrated in the rest of Spain? The booklet ‘Celebrem el Nadal’ (Let’s celebrate Christmas), by Amadeu Carbó, has the answer to this puzzle and a good many more besides.
The Santa Llúcia Fair is the oldest Christmas market held in the city and its long history has made it a key figure in dozens of stories, customs and curiosities well worth bringing together.
The Tyrolean Krampus, the German Christmas markets, the Scandinavian St Lucia choirs, presents appearing under a model ship in Greece, a witch who brings presents in Italy... European Christmases all have their own traditions. Would you like to know...
One of the festival’s best-known features are its “llufas” (paper dolls), which, while on the wane these days, are still an icon. Even so, there are areas where practical jokes have survived, especially in the media and on social networks.
It is said that the correfoc developed spontaneously in Barcelona during the La Mercè festival in 1978. That was a time when traditional and popular culture was being revived and a group of cultural activists wanted to organise a fire show. The initial idea was to organise a classic ball de diables but, to their surprise, the watching public joined in the performance and gave it movement.
