Mallorca is an island full of curious traditions and long traditions. This island celebrates traditional festivals with contemporary motifs throughout the year. From outdoor concerts to local celebrations rich in culture and heritage, you will always find something to do.
Some traditions are stranger than others because of their history. After reading this long list of island traditions, you’ll want to see it with your own eyes!
Strange traditions
The “Pebre bord”
It is celebrated in Felanitx. A fair composed of more than 500 stalls celebrates the “Pebre bord”. The origin of this day has a long tradition and is usually celebrated in October.
On a day like this, farmers and people who made killings of their livestock take the opportunity to buy the paprika (pebre bord), and all its counterparts, in addition to the necessary tools such as knives, cutting, ribells, or greixoneres.
The “correbou” of Fornalutx
A day before the start of the festivities of Fornalutx in honor of the Virgin of September, on the 7th, the village welcomes hundreds of young people who participate in the runbou.
In the early hours of the morning, a huge bull comes out of his lair, a large wooden crate, and moves through the streets of the town with his antlers tied to ropes guided by the many young people who accompany him on his journey.
For some years, after the protests of environmental groups, a group of volunteers now watches so that that the bull doesn’t suffer any kind of abuse.
The “fadrí major”
The small town of Moscari, which depends on Selva, lives intensely with the traditional Festa des Fadrí that focuses on festivities of Santa Anna which was recovered in 1982 thanks to the memories of the neighboring town of Margalida Martorell
The most splendid moment of the party is when the retinue led by the Fadrí Major goes through the two streets adorned with colorful carpets made by the villagers themselves.
The party “des Foguerons”
On January 16, in Muro and in Sóller, they celebrate fiesta de foguerons and they light big bonfires at night when they dance, sing and drink around them. The next day, floats and all kinds of cattle will parade by Muro. Festival of Sant Antoni Abad is also celebrated on almost the whole island, on January 17. This event takes place in most of the towns throughout the island, except in the capital, in order to remember the temptations that this saint suffered in his journey through the desert. People celebrate it by eating sobrasada in the main plaza of each town.
On January 20, these small bonfires are seen again for the celebration in Palma of the festivities of San Sebastián, patron saint of the city.
Festes del Rei in Jaume
The folklore of Mallorca is well known by its elegant ceremonious dances and its melodious songs. These fun and popular parties mark the landing of Jaime I in Santa Ponça 783 years ago and the beginning of the reconquest of the island from the Moors. It is celebrated on the second Sunday of May.
There is a varied program of cultural, traditional and leisure events, such as a parade of giants, the nit de foc (night of fire) and the noisy and animated reconstruction of a battle between Moors and Christians.
The Carnival of Mallorca
As is every year, the streets of Mallorca become a great festival of colours for its carnivals, parties and parades.
The main parade in Palma, makes a great journey: La Rambla, Riera Street, Unió Street, Plaça Joan Carles I (Plaza de las Tortugas), Av. Jaume III and Passeig Mallorca. It starts at 5:00 p.m. and ends at 8:30 p.m.
The Dansa dels Cossiers
It is a traditional dance group, whose dances are the oldest on the island, and which today are still preserved in towns such as Algaida and Alaró.
The dance group consists of 6 men and a woman, who are accompanied by the “devil”. The whole group dances to the rhythm of the melodies played by the pipe and the musicians of the chirimia.
This festival is celebrated on January 15 and 16 in Algaida, on August 23 and 24 in Montuïri, on August 16 in Alaró and on August 2 in Pollença.
The “Festa de’s cavall”
On August 28, the town of Ses Salines celebrates the Festa de’s Cavall as a tribute to the fuss of Menorca. It is a huge party where more than 3,000 people gather to have fun in the Plaza de Sant Bartomeu.
Traditional games with horses are organized and it is tradition to drink a lot of wine. People are encouraged to sing and dance until the sun rises.
Gastronomic traditions in Mallorca
Food and drink are always the protagonists of a good party. So much so, that in Mallorca you can find fairs and parties dedicated exclusively to a specific food, such as grapes or olives.
Holy Week and Pancaritats: They are penitent processions throughout Mallorca. People prepare and eat panades, robiols and crespells. The week after Easter, the pan caritas (camps held outside the villages) take place in sanctuaries and hermitages throughout Mallorca.
The first Sunday after Easter, they celebrate the Diumenge de l’Àngel (Angel’s Day) at Bellver Castle.
Festa des Vermar or Harvest Festival: This festival lasts nine days. During this time, Binissalem becomes a place of continuous celebrations because of the end of the grape harvest.
The ‘Festa des Vermar’ attracts people from all over the island and beyond for events such as wine tasting, grape treading, grape-throwing contests, carnival-like processions and the open-air dinner where noodles are served or Fideus de Vermar, a traditional dish.
Olive oil fair: At the end of November, the Olive Oil Fair takes place in the quiet village of Caimari. You will be able to experience the traditional methods of pressing olives and how oil is produced.
In the streets there are numerous stands to taste and buy the typical Mallorcan products, know the harvest of the olives and enjoy the most popular songs of the island.
You already know the most curious traditions of Mallorca, as well as its most striking gastronomic fairs. It’s time to get close to the island to enjoy them in the first person.
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