Festivales de España

Día de los Reyes Magos – The “Epiphany” – Starts the night of Jan. 5 with the parade (Cabalgata) of the Kings and hundreds of people gathering to watch a reenactment of the arrival of the Three Kings into town – That evening, before an early night in bed, children leave out their shoes in a spot where the Kings are sure to see them. When morning arrives, children discover by their shoes there are wrapped presents just waiting to be torn into. The magical night comes to a close with another Spanish Christmas tradition: a typical breakfast of Roscón de Reyes, a ring-shaped cake decorated with fruits symbolizing the precious gems that adorned the royal trio's lavish clothing.

Las fallas In Valencia week leading up to March 19 – Saint Joseph’s Day Imagine a bonfire from Guy Fawkes Night or a Homecoming and multiply it by a factor of one hundred: that is Las Fallas. Each neighborhood traditionally gets together to build giant puppets which are then later set fire to. There is usually a satirical nature to these puppets, though not always. The burning of these puppets is of course accompanied with plenty of street parties throughout the city. Not all the puppets get burned. There is a public vote to decide on the very best puppets for this year. These are taken to the Museo Fallero, Valencia's Fallas museum

La Semana Santa Though Seville and Malaga are the most famous cities for Semana Santa, the Castilla- Leon cities of Valladolid and Leon are also important. Semana Santa is the Spanish name for Easter. Members of local parishes carry ornate decorated floats depicting the Passion of Christ into the city cathedral.

Feria de Abril Sevilla two weeks after Easter The Feria de Sevilla is celebrates everything Andalusia is famous for: flamenco, bullfighting, wine and horses.

Cristianos y Moros The Cristianos y Moros celebration (Moors & Christians in English) is a slightly tongue-in-cheek commemoration of the Moorish control of Spain and a celebration of the sebsequent return to Christian rule. Participants condense 700 years of Moorish rule into an evening's worth of mock battles, centered around a papier-mache castle, erected either in the main square or on the beach. In the first battle, the Moors take control of the city (boo! hiss!); in the second, the Christians take the city back (hurrah!).

Festival de San Fermín One week in early July in Pamplona. The Pamplona Bull Run is a week-long bull running and bullfighting festival. Every morning at 8am, the city's brave and the world's foolhardy run ahead of a group of angry bulls. The rest of us look on in amazement.

La Tomatina Fourth week in August outside Valencia The Tomatina Tomato Fight is probably the world's biggest food fight. Thousands of people gather in the streets of the tiny town of Bujol throwing tomatoes at each other. The origins of the festival are unknown.