Spain's top fiestas explained

If Spain is famous worldwide for just one thing, it would be the colourful and lively fiestas which fill its streets almost year-round. Whilst many countries host street parties, festivals and carnivals that have brought them international renown – and millions of tourists – Spain is the number one nation that springs to mind whenever you feel the urge to enjoy these bright public spectacles. At almost any time of the year, there is likely to be a fiesta happening, and many of the main ones are regionally-specific, so you're practically guaranteed to see something very different if you go off on a road trip around Spain.

Spanish fiesta activities are always fun to watch, but you don't need to limit yourself to being a spectator. If you move to Spain, or spend long periods at your Spanish holiday home, you could become part of the action. Fiesta participants are paying subscribers to their local festival committee, or commission and, as long as they have space for extra members, there's nothing to stop you being one yourself. Fees can cover year-round activities or simply the annual festival week, including costume hire, parties, meals and drinks. This means that, as long as you can afford it, you could be in one of the exciting parades that visitors from all over the world travel to watch.

Fiestas in Spain come in all shapes and sizes – here are some of the biggest and most famous of all.

Patron saint fiestas

Every town, village or city in Spain has at least one patron saint, and every day of the traditional Catholic calendar is dedicated to a one of them. This means every town has its own 'Patron saint's day', and it's the perfect excuse for a party.

Patron saint fiestas are generally the largest of the year for the town in question, and often involve members of committees for all the other festivals that take place on other dates joining in at once. Depending upon where you are in the country, you might find Easter Week cloaks and pointed hats alongside Moors, Christians, polka-dot dresses, or other traditional regional costumes. There could also be floats, fancy-dress processions, religious parades carrying life-sized statues of the saint in question, marching brass and wind bands, wandering percussionists, flower-offerings, pilgrimages, and folk music.

Open-air concerts, as well as communal evening meals might well be involved. Mobile discos, sports day-style races and games, themed craft markets, all types of children's activities, and even pop-up water parks and foam parties are among the huge list of public events that take place during a town's annual patron saint fiesta.

Your local tourist information office or town hall will be able to tell you which dates these take place on and, nearer the time, provide full programmes of activities. Most of these activities are open to everyone and many of which are free of charge.

Moors and Christians

Although sometimes described as a re-enactment of Spain's Mediaeval era, the fiesta is more about celebrating the joint history of two major cultures. Spain's native Catholic population and the Islamic, or Moorish community lived in harmony for over 700 years, and the legacy of the latter society is evident in everything from architecture to food, and from farming methods to medical science.

Clearly, as it's all for entertainment purposes, historical significance takes a back seat to the showy, flamboyant high performance element. Elaborate costumes, bright colours, marching bands, modern music, huge open-air banquets with free bars, dancing displays, and fireworks occupy the streets for between one and three nights, depending upon the size of the town.

The 'Christians' are dressed for combat, designed to be scary-looking, with swords, spears, horns, spiked helmets, leather, and armour-plated tunics, whilst the 'Moors' are in glittery Arab-style costume with flowing skirts, feathers and turbans.

These bright and beautiful festivals are typically found in the eastern half of mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands, normally in high summer.

Fallas

Unique to the east-coast region of the Comunidad Valenciana, this spectacular week-long event coincides with Saint Joseph's Day, March 19, which is Father's Day in Spain. The biblical Joseph was a carpenter, and on his saint's day, woodworkers would burn their waste material in the street.

Huge wood-framed papier-mâché statues, or fallas– normally caricatures of celebrities and politicians, and satirising current affairs – are set up on every street corner, and fiesta participants in traditional regional dress spend their days and nights dining and partying in the attached marquées, or casales. The women, known as falleras, wear braided damask dresses with giant crinoline skirts and their hair braided. Being nominated as Fallera Mayor, or Falla Queen, is an enormous honour and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Gunpowder-banger displays known as mascletaes, a flower-offering – where a massive statue of the Virgin Mary is created using individual bouquets – and the cremà, where the falla statues are burned down on the last night are the main events of the fiesta.

Although Valencia city is held to be the cradle of the Fallas, nearly every town in the province of Valencia, several in Castellón province and in the province of Alicante also celebrate the festival.

Fogueres de Sant Joan, or Hogueras de San Juan

A festival which is very similar to the Fallas and with the same type of papier-mâché statues, the Fogueres, or Hogueras (which means 'bonfires') is celebrated over the summer solstice. It takes place in the southern part of Alicante province, with the biggest versions being held in Alicante city and in Jávea.

Together with the costumed parades, dinners, outdoor discos and open-air concerts, one of the main events takes place on the night of June 23 on the nearest beach, on the eve of Saint John's Day, or Día de San Juan. Hundreds of locals sit around a camp fire on the shore, and tradition dictates that you write down your biggest wishes for the year ahead, throw the list into the flames, jump over the fire and then run into the sea, leaping over the first three waves that break, on the stroke of midnight – then your 'burning' wishes will come true.

Feria de Abril (April Fair)

Unique to the southern city of Sevilla, the Feria de Abril is a bright, colourful and cheerful celebration of all of Spain's best stereotypes. This is where you will find flamenco dancers in flowing, polka-dot dresses, gypsy guitar music, castañetes, hand-clapping, sevillanas steps, and coplas sung a capello in the streets.

Despite its name, the April Fair sometimes takes place in early May as the date varies by year. And whenever it falls, it takes over the entire city. Street upon street of brightly-painted market stalls in open-fronted huts, known as casetas, sell food and souvenirs, whilst dressage displays, marching bands and live concerts provide additional atmosphere.

The fair runs for an entire week, one of Sevilla's most-visited of the year, and culminates in a massive firework display.

If you miss it, don't worry: The Feria de Málaga ('Málaga Fair'), which is very similar in style, takes place every August in the Costa del Sol capital.

Semana Santa (Easter Week)

Easter in Spain is a key fiesta time – but what you'll see is very, very different from a typical Spanish festival. Instead of showy costumes and fast-paced music in carnival-style parades that end with late-night street parties, this highly-religious event is much more solemn, and extremely moving.

Although Semana Santa translates as 'Holy Week', the main events are over two days – Good Friday in the evening, and Easter Sunday in the morning. The first of these is the most significant, with a procession re-enacting the Crucifixion; then, on the Sunday, the Reencuentro ('Re-encounter' or 'Reunion') plays out Christ's return from the dead and meeting with his mother Mary, a joyful moment with doves of peace released, sweets and flower petals scattered, and upbeat music played.

The Good Friday parade signifies penitance: Paraders wear full-bodied plain gowns, masks covering their entire faces, and tall, thin, pointed hats, whilst floats containing life-sized statues of Jesus at different stages of the Crucifixion are carried. It resembles a funeral march, and is highly emotional to watch – not just for Christians, but for spectators of any faith, or none at all.

If you're physically strong and want to take part in Semana Santa yourself, your local fiesta committee will be delighted to hear from you: Costaleros, who carry the floats, are always needed. These display pieces can weigh over a tonne, and as lifelong costaleros get older, they eventually find they can no longer bear the weight and are forced to retire.

Carnival

Celebrating the start of Lent – the traditional six-week 'fasting' period before Easter – the Carnival is, without question, the most exciting moment on the national calendar between Christmas and summer. It's a time where anything goes, where no costume is too silly or too outlandish, and where partying until dawn is not merely reserved for the young.

Fancy-dress parades, often with a satirical theme, and floats are the main element of the Carnival, and the rest is just about live music and open bars, with the entire town centre becoming a giant al fresco disco.

The biggest Carnival by far is that of Tenerife's island capital, Santa Cruz, where being elected for the rôle of Carnival Queen makes you a national celebrity and household name for life. It's at least as big and famous as its annual counterparts in Brazil and Venice, the most renowned on earth.

Cádiz Carnival comes a very close second, and is typically the largest on the mainland, but wherever you are in Spain you'll find it – some versions smaller than others. Among the largest are Águilas (Murcia Region), Badajoz, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Pego (northern Alicante province).

Most smaller towns stage a low-key version of the Carnival for school pupils, too. If you have children, they can join in the fancy-dress contest and will spend fun hours in class preparing costumes in the weeks before

Fun fiestas are only one small reason for deciding the best place in Spain for you to live or buy a holiday home. But they're certainly a bonus extra! If these and other lifestyle factors are important to you, you will love our comprehensive section on Finding your place in Spain.