Bank holidays and celebrations in Barcelona
Barcelona has a lot of festivities all year long.
On the 6th of January is the Kings Day (El Dia Dels Reis). There are processions in the streets with walk-on actors dressed like the Three Wise Men who give candies to the children.
At the end of February is the Carnival of Shrove Tuesday as well as the celebration of Santa Eulalia, the patron saint of Barcelona.
In March the Holy Week is an important religious event, with many processions in every city.
The 23rd of April, boys offer a rose to girls and girls offer a book to boys for the Sant Jordi, a patron saint of Catalonia. The book stands for the death anniversary of Cervantes, a famous Catalan writer but also of Shakespeare. The rose comes from the legend of Sant Jordi who killed a dragon. The story says that a rosewood bloomed at the place where the dragon was killed.
The 20th of May comes Pasqua Granada, the second Easter.
For the Saint-John, on the 24th of June, people meet on the street and concerts, dances and pyrotechnics are organized everywhere in the streets. On this occasion, people in Spain eat the 'coca' a special sweet bread.
On the 15th of August, the Catalans celebrate the Assumption.
The 11th of September is the national Day of Catalonia. At this day, in 1714, Catalonia was defeated by the Spanish armies of Philippe V of Bourbon. Catalonia lost its national liberties, its own politics and the Catalan language and culture were prohibited.
Mercè is also a patron saint of Barcelona and is celebrated on the 24th of September, because she showed much bravery in pushing back alone a grasshoppers invasion in 1637.
Finally in December, the week before Christmas is the occasion of the Carnival of Santa Llucia. You can find many stands with the figurines of the crib, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Three Wise Men...
It's nice to come to Barcelona for one of this events and get to know the traditions of Catalonia. It's easy to find the suitable Barcelona accommodation.