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Popular Culture News

Why is St Stephen’s Day only celebrated in Catalonia?

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.

21 things you should know about cannelloni for St Stephen’s Day

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...

Christmas Fare

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.

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Main events and activities in the city

tres reis

Three Kings Parade

On the evening of 5 January, Barcelona organises a big welcome for the Kings of the Orient, who set off on a big parade.
Sant Antoni

Tres Tombs de Barcelona

The main event of the Festa dels Tres Tombs is a parade of animals in a cavalcade and pulling coaches around the city centre.

Tres Tombs Infernals

The Tres Tombs Infernals is a celebration held in Sant Andreu de Palomar that combines street theatre and a firework display with a correfoc.

Did you know...

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.


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