April is a very special month in Spain. Depending on the calendar year Easter may fall in March or April.
The weather is mild and terraces get crowded on sunny days. Children run in the many parks of every large city. There are many famous Easter celebrations that take place across the country, and the good weather starts to get to get the blood pumping.
Legend has it that a long time ago, in Montblanc (Tarragona) a dragon capable of poisoning the air and killing with its breath, had terrified the inhabitants of the city. They decided to calm it by feeding it one person a day to be chosen at random.
After some time a curse fell upon the Princess of Montblanc. She left her home to seek out the dragon and end the curse but was attacked by the beast. Then a knight by the name of Jordi, in his shining armor and a white horse, suddenly appeared to come to her rescue. Sant Jordi raised his sword and pierced the dragon, finally freeing the princess and the citizens. From the dragon’s blood sprouted a rose bush with the reddest roses that had ever been seen. Sant Jordi, triumphant, plucked a rose and offered it to the princess.
During this festivity, giving roses to loved ones is the most significant tradition. Anyone can make this offering, although as tradition dictates, it is the man who must deliver a rose to his beloved. It is considered to be Catalan Valentine’s Day. It is also International Book Day, so purchasing books is also common on Sant Jordi. Gaudí’s spectacular Casa Batlló famously depicts this legend on it’s façade.
After Easter vacation is over, halfway through spring, the city turns into the bride of the world, and for this, the streets tidy up with perfume and orange blossom flowers. It puts on a flamenco outfit, striped white, red and green, with frills to celebrate the Seville April fair.
The Moors and Christians celebrations are religious festivals in Spain that are recreated each year in many villages of the east of Spain. During these three or four days of celebration, the end of the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the XVI century is commemorated, after it was dominated for centuries by Muslim troops.
For tourists, the most spectacular thing of these festivals are the battles between Moors and Christians with colorful costumes and weapons of the time, scimitars, swords, cannons and muskets.
Semana Santa is the time of “La pasión” as locals refer to it. Seville Easter Festival or holy week is one of the busiest times of the year. Local sevillanos and Spaniards from other regions alike gather in the streets to encourage the different brotherhoods whilst they parade with heavy and beautiful art masterpieces through the narrow streets of Seville. Locals refer to this week as La Pasion!
