The bed of the Virgin Mary

In Mallorca, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary - when her earthly life was finished and she was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven - is generally referred to in fiesta terms as Mare de Déu d’Agost (Mother of God of August).

The fifteenth is a public holiday, as it is across Spain, but these fiestas contain a tradition that has predominantly survived in Mallorca rather than elsewhere. It is a comparatively unknown tradition where many people are concerned, and it takes place on the evening of the fourteenth. ‘Llits de la Mare de Déu Morta’ are beds on which the Virgin Mary lies before the Assumption.

Over fifty churches in Mallorca have a celebration of this, the only village where there is an actual procession with the bed and the image being Valldemossa; this is known as the Procession of the Crests, so named because of what is worn on heads to represent the halos of four apostles. At the Cathedral, there is a service which features the Capella de la Seu choir. The bed, as is tradition, is watched over by angels.