![]() Inside this bread is hidden a tiny figurine of Baby Jesus. Traditionally, Rosca de Reyes (a special loaf of sweet bread) is served on Three Kings Day-which is celebrated on January 6th. One of the typical features of Día de la Candelaria is the eating of tamales. However, there are many places that celebrate Día de la Candelaria with special mass services that commemorate the religious holiday. It can sometimes land on Constitution Day (which is the first Monday in February), but as a holiday, it’s not observed throughout the whole country. ![]() Where is Día de la Candelaria Celebrated?ĭía de la Candelaria is not an official holiday in Mexico. Candlemas has since been observed in locations throughout Europe and the Americas. The themes of purification involved in Dia de la Candelaria meant that it was often combined with other pagan celebrations around that time, such as Lupercalia. We also have evidence for Candlemas being celebrated in Rome, and other parts of the Roman Empire. Historical records attest to festivals held in Jerusalem during the 4th Century C.E. It also is considered the true end of the holiday season-after Three Kings Day-which signals the complete end of the winter festivals.ĭía de la Candelaria is one of the oldest celebrations in Christendom. Therefore, Día de la Candelaria celebrates when the Virgin Mary was allowed to enter the Jewish Temple. The holiday is celebrated on February 2nd because, according to ancient Jewish tradition, a woman was considered unclean after giving birth, and was not allowed in the Temple for 40 days after the birth of a child. When is Día de la Candelaria?ĭía de la Candelaria takes place 40 days after Christmas. However, Candelaria in Mexico has special traditions that are only found in Mexico, some of which even date back to the Aztecs. Known as Candlemas in English, there are many Catholic countries that celebrate Día de la Candelaria. They could at least symbolise giant candles…with a bit of imagination.While in the United States, they have Groundhog Day, in Mexico they have Candelaria. ![]() How some of these local variations are related to the original celebration is anyone’s guess, especially the one in Madrid. Homemade chorizo sausages are cooked on huge bonfires. In A Pobra de Trives, Ourense, sausages are the order of the day. In Menasalbas, Toledo, there is a horseback parade in which 11 riders and their 22 serfs carry torches through the town.Īlmonacid del Marquesado, Cuenca, is the scene of a ‘devil’ parade, hundreds of gaily clad devils cavorting around the streets. In Málaga, it is a fairly standard procession with a reenactment of the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. At the end of the day in the town plaza, the bull is ceremonially ‘killed’ and sangria is passed around to symbolise the blood of the bull. In Madrid, the streets fill with clowns dressed as Andalucían farmers (cheeky lot) who bring out young bulls (vaquillas) consisting of a wooden frame with two horns.īullfighters, to use the term exceedingly loosely, dressed in multicolored silk trousers, perform mock bullfights around town all day long. These vary from simple candlelit parades to bizarre events involving wooden bulls. It is a Christian celebration dating back to the 8th Century and in pagan folklore it denoted the middle of winter.Īlthough the basic concept of ‘purification’ is the foundation of the fiesta, it is celebrated in many different ways in Spain. The feast honours the day Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth to perform the required sacrifice of purification. The Fiesta de la Candelaria takes place on February 2nd and is celebrated in many towns and villages throughout Spain.
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