The Sant Sebastià festivities conclude with a fiery spectacle of an infernal dance featuring fire and fantastical creatures. | T. AYUGA
Night of fire in January
The bells ring out, the traditional twelve grapes of good luck and prosperity are eaten, the cava flows and the parties in squares across Mallorca get into full swing. Celebration time but the celebrations certainly don’t end around five or six o’clock on New Year’s Day, for these are celebrations that are a prelude to a month of almost non-stop partying.
The New Year marquees are packed away to make space for Royal Pages to receive the letters of the island’s children. The Three Kings! Such anticipation, such excitement. On the night of the fifth of January, Melchor, Gaspar y Baltasar miraculously appear simultaneously in the city, the towns, the ports, the villages. They come by boat.
The Kings’ greetings on the quayside in Palma herald the grandest of the island’s cavalcades - one hundred years or so of custom now a wonderment of floats and fantasy. By land, by sea, the Kings have even been known to descend from the skies. Carriages and horses convey the cavalcades of Magi and their attendants to the adornments of the baby Jesus in church nativities, to town hall balconies for more greetings and to the eager recipients of the Kings’ gifts. Such spectacles. But there will be more. Very much more.
St. Antony’s Fire
Sant Antoni Abat is Mallorca’s unofficial patron saint. The cult of worship of Anthony the Great dates back to the early decades following the conquest of Mallorca in 1229. Sant Antoni, the father of monasticism, the saint of the animals, the saint whose followers treated ergotism - St. Anthony’s Fire, the saint who was tormented by demons. Fiestas for Sant Antoni can be traced to 1365 in Sa Pobla, which is today the epicentre for rituals of the saint dancing with demons, for the blessings of animals, for the bonfires that mark a renewal. Everywhere there is the smell of wood smoke and of barbecues, and from the darkness of January nights emerge the beings of the underworld - the demons who run with fire. The correfoc!
The gangs of demons with their grotesque appearance, their fire-spitting tridents, their warnings of devilment, their batucada drummers with incessant rhythms are a relatively new phenomenon - some fifty years old. These are demons who have escaped from a centuries-old religious theatre that originally positioned them as protagonists in processions for Corpus Christi as well as for fiestas in Sa Pobla. They are one variety of demon, the different guises making them central to the island’s fiestas. The demon and Sant Antoni are true symbols of Mallorca.
Mid-January and the celebrations blur into one. January 16 is the eve of Sant Antoni, the 17th is day, and when the blessings can be on such a scale that whole flocks and herds can be manoeuvred through village centres. There is no pause, as another great saint of Mallorca, Sant Sebastià, is honoured. No more so than in Palma. Sebastian is the city’s patron saint. He once rid the city of the plague - or rather, a bone from an arm managed this feat in 1523.
Bonfires and concerts
Sebastian, a time for more bonfires and barbecues, for concerts in Palma’s squares (the grand party night of January 19), and for fire-running on an awesome scale. Palma does this twice a year - once in winter, once in summer. Numerous gangs of demons are let loose, accompanied by beasts of fire. The dragon, Drac de na Coca, appears before this massive correfoc. A real beast rather than a legend in that an escaped crocodile was taken to have been a dragon by seventeenth-century residents of Palma, it breathes fire and lights the bonfire in Plaça Major on the January 19 party night. The music ranges from folk to rock to jazz to urban.
And finally it is time to catch breath, although not the riders taking part in the end of January cycling event. Mallorca is Europe’s premier destination for winter cycling training, and the Gardens Hotels Luxcom Challenge Ciclista, with both women’s and men’s challenges, is the culmination of this training.
Field of Almond blossoms in February
‘Festa de la llum’, festival of light is how Palma Cathedral has dubbed a phenomenon that occurs two times a year - February 2 (Candlemas) and November 11 (the feast of Saint Martin). The dates are equal periods from the winter solstice and when the morning sun (around 8am) produces the ‘vuit’, the figure of eight created by the reflection of the main rose window - the Gothic Eye - under the smaller window.
In 2007, the Balearic Mathematics Society drew attention to the phenomenon. It had obviously been known about for centuries - the rose window was installed in the 14th century and the stained glass in the 16th century - but it had never been popularised. It has since become very popular. The landscape of Mallorca in February is characterised by the fields of almond blossom - an amazingly beautiful sight.
In Son Servera there has been an almond blossom fair since 2010. Held on the first Sunday in February, the location is the estate of Ca s’Hereu, which is now an agrotourism finca but has a history that dates back to the thirteenth century. This was one of the possessions that came to be owned by the Servera family, who gave their name to what developed as a population centre, then a village and finally a municipality. Until the 1970s, Ca s’Hereu was a working farm.
Carnival, classic cars and ceramics in March
The timing of Carnival is obviously determined by when Easter falls. In 2025 it will be in early March - the weekend of the first and second of the month. Carnival is one of those annual occasions for a good old party, a load of fun and for potentially winning some money. It depends on the town hall and the category, but prizes can be up to 500 euros. But it’s not really about the winning, it’s the taking part that counts - or the watching for those who don’t dress up or put on a costume.
Carnival
La Rua (Sa Rua in Mallorquí) has an old meaning of way or street. Nowadays, the dictionary definition is specific to Carnival. This is “the parade of people in costumes and decorated vehicles that takes place at ‘Carnestoltes’ “, the very old word for Carnival that is still used today - it means forbidden meats in reference to Lent. Palma has the largest Rua (obviously), but over the weekend there are parades all over Mallorca, the greater number being on Saturday rather than Sunday.
Easter Funfair
Easter also dictates when Mallorca’s biggest funfair is held. Or should it be Palm Sunday, as Fira del Ram refers to the Palm Sunday origin of the fair either in the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries (it is disputed). Needless to say, today’s fair is nothing like it used to be. Lasting for several weeks, it will start some time in March.
Balearics Day
On March 1, 1983, the Balearics were officially granted autonomy. The following year the day was declared a fiesta and in 1999 became a public holiday. There will be a wide range of events over the first weekend of 2025. Mainly in Palma, appropriately enough as it is the seat of government, these typically range from a market for DO products and a Balearics cuisine fair to open days at places like the Balearic Parliament, to cars doing stunts and DJs and bands. Something for everyone.
Ceramics Fair
Marratxi’s Fira del Fang, the Ceramics Fair, was established in 1984 with the precise intention of supporting the labours of ceramicists, especially those from Marratxi. By the time it reached its thirtieth edition, the fair had become that greatly appreciated that it was honoured by being awarded a national prize from the Spanish Association of Ceramics’ Towns. In the commendation, it was noted that the fair had contributed to the “prestige and diffusion of Spanish ceramics”. The association between Marratxi and ceramics is an historical one, which is today reflected by the number of ceramics businesses, especially in Portol.
Classic Car Rally
The 2025 Rally Clásico Puerto Portals will be the 21st edition. Over three days, the rally attracts more than 100 cars in various categories. A highly popular event, there are always some outstanding classic cars, such as MGs from the 1950s and Jaguar E-Types and Austin Healeys from the 1960s. Based in Puerto Portals, the stages are held in the Tramuntana Mountains.
Saint Patrick’s Day in Santa Ponsa
In 2006, the Irish broadcaster RTE posted an article onto its website. The opening sentence read: “If Santa Ponsa did not exist, Ireland’s holiday culture would have had to create it”. The Irish didn’t create Santa Ponsa as it was, by the start of the 1970s, already a thriving resort, but the Irish connection was made in that decade and largely due to tour operator Joe Walsh. Santa Ponsa is Mallorca’s centre for Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations. There is live entertainment - music and dance - children’s activities, artisan market and plenty of food and drink. And you would never guess that the food and drink might include Dublin Coddle and Guinness.
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