España+-+Holidays+and+Celebrations

by Ariel D. and Liz P. (June 2012)
 * In Espa ñ a, holidays are important celebrations that bring the family together with fiestas y comida. **

San Juan

 * San Juan is the celebration of the entering into summer on the shortest night of the year. The celebration includes bonfires, fireworks, music, dancing, and food such as sardines and bread. The holiday was originally a celebration of the summer solstice, but Christian religion has been incorporated into the celebration. The holiday’s traditions may differ from town to town. **


 * In Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, people have bonfires made of waste. When the fire runs out, the people bathe in a sea filled with fruit and flowers. Bonfires are more common on the eve of San Juan. **


 * The streets are often decorated with branches and leaves around the time of San Juan. Young girls in love are usually serenaded and have branches placed on their balconies. **
 * In Alosno, the dance of the bellringers takes place in the church. **
 * In Frías, the Captain’s dance takes place on the Sunday nearest to the 24th of June. **
 * In Soria, the feasts of San Juan are celebrated from Thrusday to Monday, each day with a different name-Thursday is La Saca, Friday is de Toros, Saturaday is agés, Sunday is de calderas, and Monday is de bailas. **

Below: Videos of the bonfires, fireworks, and the holiday. media type="youtube" key="9xORPLBRfzI?rel=0" height="233" width="400" align="left"media type="youtube" key="JQweL1oXpxA" height="267" width="350" align="right"

Asuncion de la Virgen Maria
La Asuncion de la Virgen Maria, or the Feast of the Assumption (of Mary), is the celebration of the Virgin Mary entering Heaven. It is majorly celebrated August 15th with Christians and Catholics. The celebration ends on the 15th with a picture of the Virgin being carried through the streets.

==La Tomatina - Tomato Fight Festival ==  During this holiday, over 30,000 people come to the streets of Valencia, Spain to throw more than 240,000 pounds of tomatoes at each other. This festival occurs on the last Wednesday of August. To start off this holiday, a ham on a stick is hung on a pole and competitors race up the pole to cut the ham. Once it is cut people put on eye protection and cry for tomatoes while trucks dump them on the streets. People all over grab the produce and pelt them at each other until there are no more tomatoes to pelt. It's a town-wide food fight!  It was thought the holiday started in 1945 when a group of young people decided to join a parade of puppets with large heads. This occurred on the last Wednesday of August. A parade participant was not happy with their decision so he shoved everything in his path away to get to the teenagers. As a result, people in the crowd got mad and grabbed tomatoes, starting a town food fight. The next year the same group of teenagers decided to re-enact their past of the chase. They even brought tomatoes from home. For the next few years, the law forbade the new tradition for most of the 1950’s; however, to keep this tradition from disappearing, people put the risk of being arrested to act in the protection of the odd celebration. Eventually the people in charge allowed the holiday to commence legally. media type="youtube" key="JzWWhqL0ruY" height="267" width="350"

Pilgrimage of Santa Orosia

 * <span style="color: #1a4705; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">On the 25th of June in Jaca, and the 25th of July in Yebra de Basa, the people take part in a pilgrimage to Santa Orosia with dancers and the saint's skull carried in a procession. **

<span style="color: #1a4705; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Watch the following video to see a woman make her way through the path from Yerba de Basa to Santa Orosia media type="youtube" key="mhrFhxf7tKI" height="315" width="420"

<span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Christmas/Navidad y Epiphany
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 * <span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Epiphany **
 * <span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Santa does not go to Spain with gifts. Instead, the Three Wise Men come on January 5th, the Eve of Epiphany, during the night. The children leave their shoes out, filled with straw, on the doorstep to get gifts from the Wise Men.
 * <span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">People leave things for the kings such as a glass of cognac for each king and water for the camels.
 * <span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Cakes are given to children in the celebration. The cake is a ring-shaped roll. It is made on the day of Epiphany and is sometimes filled with chocolate, or jelly, or even a small gift.
 * <span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Around Christmas, the Three Wise Men are found visiting hospitals, orphanages, and other places to greet and meet the children.
 * <span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">On January 6th, Epiphany, there are multiple parades in the cities of Spain in honor of the holiday. Each king has their own memorial float.
 * <span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The tradition of the Wise Men came from the legend of the men traveling to Bethlehem through Spain on camels. This explains why straw will be left in the shoes for camels.
 * <span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Epiphany celebrates the three kings bringing gifts to baby Jesus. In fact, most presents from Christmas are not opened until Epiphany.
 * <span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Similar to Christmas, if children have been bad, they will receive coal instead of presents, except the coal is made of sugar.
 * <span style="color: #31234d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Epiphany is also called King's Day. In Spain Epiphany is called "Fiesta de los tres Reyes Mages" and this translates to "The festival of the Three Magic Kings".

media type="youtube" key="iPVK7c6Uvjk" height="360" width="480" align="center"

For more info on the previous go to these links [|La Tomatina Festival] [|Navidad y Epiphany]