traditions

As has been traditional over the last 58 years, when spring arrives the city of Girona dresses up with flowers and colours abound during a week at the festival “Girona, Temps de Flors”. There is much more than flowers: music and gastronomy also participate in this festival of smells, tastes and magic images of a city that completely changes from the 11th to the 19th May. In this edition the floral installations are displayed in 142 spaces, eleven more than last year, consolidating the Festival as the most important floral event in Catalonia.

The Catalan tradition of Sant Jordi (Saint George) dictates that men should buy a red rose to their beloved and women ought to give them a book in return. That's the theory, but in practice the crowd who fills the centre of Barcelona is buying many other things, such as earrings, T-shirts or even scarlet artichokes… April 23rd is a good day to be in Barcelona. The atmosphere is cheerful and roses tower over thousands of people who stroll down la Rambla, looking for a certain title at the bookstands or just being seduced by the cover of the latest bestseller.

Saint George (Sant Jordi in Catalan) is the patron saint of Catalonia. Every 23rd April the traditional red roses and all kinds of books invade the streets creating a unique atmosphere. Tradition says that the man gives a rose to his loved one and she offers a book to the man she loves. However, tradition has evolved and people also give books and roses to partners, family members and friends now. Despite the crisis six million roses and a million books are expected to be sold.

The Catalan multi-peaked mountain, which displays unique rock rounded shapes, received 3.7% less visitors than last year, due to a drop of local tourists as a consequence of the economic crisis. However, there has been an increase in the number of visitors to the Natural Park surrounding Montserrat. The mountain is the Catalan spiritual centre, and apart from the Benedictine abbey, it is a place where visitors can go hiking and climbing.

The Sitges Carnival is one of the best-known in Spain. Its spectacular nature, alongside with the crowded parades and the dedication of the entire city to this festival, make thousands of tourists and people from all over Catalonia visit the city and enjoy its Carnival. For a week, the whole town dresses up and organises activities that include parades, parties, races or balls, where adults and children have fun together. This year, more than 300,000 people joined the villagers in the celebration of Sitges’ most important holiday.

The 188th edition of the traditional ‘Tres Tombs’ animal parade, in honour of Saint Anthony the Abbot, took place in Barcelona last weekend. In Catalonia, he is the patron saint of the animals. The parade includes a blessing of pets ceremony. Traffic was stopped in the main streets of the Catalan capital’s Ciutat Vella district and in the Sant Antoni neighbourhood to give way to another kind of vehicles: donkeys, ponies, horses and old carriages. Although a popular festivity, this year’s 'Tres Tombs' couldn’t keep a hold on its audience as the cloudy morning became a very rainy day.

All towns in Catalonia welcome the arrival of the Three Wise Men on the 5th of January. Children and parents gather on the streets throughout the country to greet the Kings from the East in an enormous display of colour, sweets and presents that cannot fail to delight everyone. The Three Wise Men often travel by camel, but they have also been known to visit some towns using floats, classic cars, boats or even helicopters! Catalan children are very excited that night, because this is the “magical night” on which they traditionally receive their big Christmas presents – although some also get presents from other magic figures such as Santa or the very Catalan tradition of the ‘caga tió’ on the 24th of December.

Catalonia’s Forest Technology Centre has cited that the lack of rain, high temperatures and the wind have slowed down the growth of mushrooms in the Pyrenees. The centre’s mathematical models expect the yields to be lower than in previous years and long term forecasts predict a lack of rain in autumn, which will also cause the yield of mushrooms to be less than average.

This cultural trade fair of Mediterranean shores’ traditions will reach its 15th edition, organised in the Central Catalonia city of Manresa in early November. The 15th edition will be held from November 8th to 11th. It is a market for music, theatre and dance professionals, with shows for all ages and held on stage or on the street. This year, 104 groups will perform in more than 250 shows. The Israeli singer Noa will offer a concert together with the Napolitan ensemble String Quarter. The Catalan Sardana orchestra, Cobla Sant Jordi, will play with the Flamenco guitarist Niño Josele. Also, the fair will have a meeting space for professionals.

Barcelona’s neighbourhood of Gràcia has started its annual street festival on Wednesday, a week long festival famous for its street decorations and community spirit. Every year residents form committees to chose a theme and decorate their streets in competition with each other with ornaments made by the residents themselves. The festival is popular with tourists and Barcelonans alike and starts on the 15th August every year.

After the Catalan Parliament’s ban on bullfighting approved in 2010, controversy between those in favour and those against bull festivities has been continuing for years now. The latest issue under discussion is the continuation of a specific bull event called the ‘correbous’ that takes place in the Ebro Delta area, in southern Catalonia. ‘Correbous’ are deeply rooted in the area’s tradition, organised to coincide with the towns’ patron saint parties, held during summertime. They are different from regular bullfighting and they have more similarities with Pamplona’s San Fermín festival, where people run in front of the bulls.

The Castellers de Vilafranca are touring in New York, where they have shown the Catalan human tower tradition. On Wednesday, the group offered three performances in the heart of Manhattan. It was the first time ever that Catalan human towers were built in the United States.

How can you reach out and touch the sky with your fingers? Is it better alone or together with others? Ram Devinevi and Cano Rojas give a clear answer to this question in their documentary which shows how three different cultures -the Catalan, the Indian and the Chilean- all with a common aim: to build the highest human constructions. A formidable challenge which can only be achieved thanks to the huge effort of three hundred bodies climbing and the technical guidelines of an experienced coach.

The Enramades of Arbúcies, a small town near Girona, is one of the oldest traditional celebrations in Catalonia. Each year this event takes place from June 7th to 13th. However, the most spectacular day is the ‘street flower carpet’ championship, which took place last Sunday. The neighbours from each street (including children, youngsters, adults and elders) all work together in this process.

La Patum is a historical and immensely popular representation, born and derived from the ancient and medieval theatre performances held during the week of Corpus Christi. It is held in Berga, in Central Catalonia and it has been declared by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. 100,000 people expected at Berga for this Corpus Christi Festival.