Madrid Festivals

Madrileños celebrate on January 1st. the "New Year's Day". New Year's Eve ticks away at Madrid's Puerta del Sol, where crowds of mainly foreigners & tourists gather to eat 12 grapes, one on each stroke of midnight to guarantee good fortune in the coming year. Thousands of people flock together at Puerta del Sol in "Noche Vieja" (New Year). After midnight, all the city becomes the scenery of a great party.

Cabalgata de los Reyes, on January 5th, is held in towns throughout Spain. The Three Kings, or Los Reyes, parade in floats, the cabalgata, tossing out sweets and presents to children. Children get their Christmas presents the following day, the Día de los Reyes. In fact, Epiphany, on the 6th, is a Spanish child's Christmas. Youngsters leave their shoes on the doorstep to be filled with gifts by the three wise men, or Three Kings.

February, March & April

"Los Carnavales", a carnival with parades and costume parties culminating on Ash Wednesday with the traditional burial of the Sardine, marks the beginning of Lent. In fact, carnival is held in the week before Lent and is a good excuse for a party with dressing-up, floats, parades and street parties. The festivities finish up with the bizarre ritual of the "Entierro de la Sardina" (Burial of the Sardine), which marks the beginning of spring. La Alternativa is an alternative theatre and dance festival is held some time in February or March at venues throughout the city. Check with the tourist office for exact dates.

On March 19 is the Fiesta de San José (Feast of St. Joseph). Also, depending on the year, Semana Santa or "Holy Week" takes place throughout Spain at the end of March or early in April, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. The Holy Week is celebrated with solemn processions and masses in Madrid. It’s not such a big event as in southern Spain, but you’ll still see some processions of venerated statues, such as the procession of the brotherhood of Jesús Nazareno el Pobre which parades around the neighbourhood of La Latina. However, processions are fewer in Madrid but are most popular in Seville and throughout Andalucía.