Spanish festivals recommendations
 

Hello everyone

I'm planning my next adventure abroad (post-Covid, because one can dream). I'm wanting to go to Spain, my favorite country. But I want to get more of a cultural insight this time around. This article says that these are the best Spanish festivals. Does anyone know any others? Your help is greatly appreciated :) And I hope you're all looking forward to exciting things too!

In Pamploma, there is another San Fermin festival in September without the running of the bulls. It was a lot of fun and has probably most, if not all, the elements of the July festival except the bull running.

"San Fermín of AldapaWhen: September 25th
What: While the dates of the weeklong San Fermín festival was changed years ago to the more weather-friendly month of July, San Fermín's actual saint day is September 25th. For several days, Pamplona's old Navarrería district is home to all sorts of activities and events to celebrate the life of the Pamplona-born Christian martyr. "

Well,, to be honest there are hundreds and it´s difficult to say. The author has misses many (the Big Week of Bilbao, the river descent of Sella river, the running of the horses on the beach in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a rapa das bestas in Sabucedo, the Alarde in Hondarribia, the amazing Rocío pilgrimage, Moors and Christians festivals in Alicante...the list could be endless) and the dates of the Holy Week festivals are misleading, as they change every year. Spain is probably the best country in the world for festivals based in traditions, with a strong cultural component.

Viking festival of Catoira
https://turismoriasbaixas.com/en/des...ikinga-catoira

Rapa das Bestas
https://turismoriasbaixas.com/en/des...as-de-sabucedo

It literally means "San Fermín in the slope", "slope" or "hill" being the meaning of "aldapa", which was the street where the statue of San Fermín Txikito ("the small", in Basque) is located. Much, much less crowded than the July 7 celebrations and really worth it.

That article has some interesting ones. FYI, I've been in Spain during Semana Santa and it's not as big a deal in some cities as others, if you want to be there for that. It's not anything like Seville in Madrid, for example. I wanted to avoid it so was in Madrid during it.

I'm very surprised that article didn't list La Merce in Barcelona, that's a real big one.
https://www.barcelona-tourist-guide....-la-merce.html

Here's another one in the Alicante area
https://www.spanish-fiestas.com/fest...-y-cristianos/

Tomorrow, August 15, is the day with the highest number of festivals held in Spain. It´s the day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, for the Catholics, and almost every town holds big celebrations, as one of the most important religious festivities in the catholic world.

This being said, Spain is not a "catholic" country anymore, I´d say that it´s a country that loves its traditions and its festivities. Just 11% of the population goes to church weekly, and the number of non-believers or atheists among the 18-25 year group is around 90%. But it´s true that the predominant religion is Catholic, although the predominant attitude of most of the population towards religion is indifference. We LOVE celebrations (not this year, though...the pandemic has suspended them all) and we love to have BIG outdoor parties to celebrate no matter what. We lit hundreds of thousands of bonfires on St John´s Eve, we dance on St Peter´s, we have big parties for the Virgin of El Carmen and so on and so on...

I lived for a year in Wisconsin, with a Catholic family. They came to see me in the Basque Country, and they were amazed at the fact that in Spain (and Central and South America) we have over 5000 names for the Virgin Mary, while in the USA it´s just "Virgin Mary". We have the Virgin of the Rocío (Virgin of the Dew), Virgen del Puerto, Virgin of the Pillar, Virgin of Dolores (pains), Assumpion, Regla (female period), Begoña, Arantzazu, Carmen, Concepción, Cobre, Guadalupe...

In any case, a real pity it´s not celebrated this year, believer or not...

Full agree with Mikelg.
Yes, many Catholic invocations, e.g. Aránzazu that stands for "the Virgin showed up surrounded by thorns"
https://aranzazushrine.ph/home/index...g-man-rodrigo/

Or the Virgin of Begoña, matron saint of my city, Bilbao, which means "the Virgin showed up under my foot", and a very popular name for women here. In fact, many Spanish women are given the name of virgins (Dolores, Pilar, Rocío, Ascensión, Puerto, Concha (Concepción), and so on...)

Must sees from the list:
Las Fallas de Valencia
Patios Festival in Córdoba

Not on the list but very much worh it:
Féria de San Pedro de Alcántara. It's the last festival of the year in Andalucía (mid October).

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate all of your suggestions! So keen to incorporate some of the festivals you all mentioned :D