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 Popular traditions |
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All year round, Santiago is a buzz with activities. Being one of the most popular places of pilgrimage in the global arena, it has a lot of traditional festivities, especially those religious in nature. These are collectively called as the Fiestas Santiago de Compostela and here we enumerate them, as celebrated in any given year.
First off is a celebration at the end of February or the beginning of March, a colorful festivity that the whole city participates in. This is the extremely famous Antroido or carnival.
In March or April, during the Easter Week, the city holds solemn but impressive processions such as the Procesion do encontro (The Meeting Procession), Viernes santo (Easter Friday), and Os Caladios (The Silent Ones). On tope of these events, there are also lively mass gatherings in the form of religious processions to a rural shrine, where fairs and dances await. Santiago’s share of these activities include its famous San Lazaro, held on March 17 and 18, and San Marcos and San Pedro Martir, observed on April 24 and 29 respectively.
Celebrated in the month of May is the Feria del Ganado, which lasts for a full 10 days. It features performances by folkloristic groups as well as a culinary festival.
Also in May or June is The Ascension that lasts for a week. This week is filled with concerts, fairs, street bands, the livestock fair and a mass in the cathedral.
However, the most important fiesta in Santiago de Compostela is centered on the July 25th Festival which is called the Galicia Day and the Apostle St. James’s Day. Prior to this, on July 24th, is the "Fuego del Apostol” observed in the Plaza del Obradoiro with an incredible fireworks display. The most solemn ceremony in this celebration is the King’s Offering to the Apostle, held on the 25th, which sees the famous Botafumeiro, the huge incense burner font that is fixed to the ceiling of the cathedral with a rope.
The latter part of the celebration displays the mixed efforts of religious and political sectors. The city council sponsors an extensive cultural and entertainment show with exhibitions, theater performances, street entertainment, and a full range of concerts, many of which are held in the Plaza del Obradoiro and Plaza de la Quintana.
Come August and September, the city celebrates an important Festival of Classical Music with a whole series of concerts that are sure to gratify people‘s varied tastes in music.
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