La Candelaria Candlemas Festival Madrid Spain

This is the celebration of the ritual purification of Mary, which, as required by Jewish law, took place forty days after the birth of her child. Candlemas is February 2. The first celebration took place in the late seventh or early eighth centuries. The custom of blessing the candles that were carried in processions gave the day its popular name of Candlemas. In many countries, Candlemas has been looked upon as the end of the Christmas season. This was the day when the decorations would be taken down and stored for another year. The Christmas plants would be burned, with the remnants of the Yule log and the ashes spread over the gardens to ensure a good harvest. The Yule log for the next year would be chosen then. Candlemas was also a good day for weather forecasting. If it was a sunny day, there would be forty more days of cold and snow.

In Almonacid del Marquesado, La Endiablada (The Fiend) pays tribute to the Virgin Mary, and appears the following day when the feast of St Blaise is celebrated. This feast-day is structured in an unusual yet precise way. The cowbells ring out ceaselessly, becoming even more prominent once inside the church. The devils (children, youths, adults and old people) are present at the processions both for Candlemas and St Blaise, running and jumping and raising their arms whilst staring obsessively at the statues. A similar celebration, though not nearly as well-known, takes place in the nearby town of El Hito (Cuenca) on 28th May.

Turtledoves, doves, candles and large cakes all feature in the procession held on this day. In Alcaudete de la Jara, Toledo, a ogroup of soldiers makes an appearance the following Sunday and parades through the streets every Sunday and feast-day until the first Sunday of Lent, that following Shrove Tuesday. In Valls Tarragona, in years ending in the number 1, Decennial Celebrations are held, bringing together colles de castellers, groups of acrobats who form human pyramids, giants and big-heads from all over Catalonia. Finally, in Madrid the traditional heifer-run has recently seen a revival following its sharp decline or even disappearance after the Civil War. This belief has carried into American folklore tradition as Groundhog Day.

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