Seville not only attracts thousands of tourists and visitors a year for its monuments, but also for its fantastic festivals, fairs and religious feasts. There are many of them throughout the year. TUDESTINO shows you the different festivities and fairs in Seville, so you can plan your getaway and enjoy some of them (or all of them!).
CAVALCADE OF THE THREE WISE MEN
It is celebrated on January 5 since 1918 and, with the passage of time, it has grown to become the multitudinous cavalcade that it is today. Its magnitude is such that it is been declared “Fiesta Mayor de Sevilla”.
As the story goes, Three Wise Men were looking for baby Jesus when he was born in order to give him three gifts. They followed a star, which stopped over the place where Jesus lived. When they found Him, they gave Him three gifts: gold, incense and myrrh.
According to the Christian tradition in Spain, on the night of January 5, children receive gifts from the Wise Men (and adults, too!), which they open on January 6 in the morning as soon as they wake up. Previously, children have had to write a letter to the Wise Men listing the gifts they want, and on the 5th of January in the afternoon they go to see them in the cavalcade, where the Three Wise Men and their pages throw candies to the kids.
As you can imagine, it is a festivity where enthusiasm and tradition are in the air. Children feel that they are living a dream when they see the Three Wise Men, and adults go back to childhood for a few hours trying to catch all the possible candies along with the kids. During this day, the city is full of magic.
SEVILLE CARNIVAL
From February to the beginning of March the carnival of Seville begins in some of its neighbourhoods and municipalities. They may not be as popular as those in Cadiz, but they are very homely. Children and adults enjoy dressing up and living Carnival, having fun among parades, carnival groups, entertainers, concerts, performances of “chirigotas” and “comparsas”, popular meals or humour shows.
HOLY WEEK
Holy Week is one of the most popular Christian holidays in Seville because of its tradition and its religiousness. The dates aren’t always the same: it is usually celebrated in March or April. Authentic fervour for this feast is felt by Sevillians, and many tourists and visitors visit the city to witness the uniqueness of this religious festivity.
The religious images go out in procession both day and night, and it is during this week that Seville smells more than ever of incense and orange blossom. The atmosphere during the Sevillian Holy Week is indescribable: the devotion is respectfully mixed with curiosity and joy.
TUDESTINO recommends to visit Seville during Holy Week, because it is a unique experience that you should live at least once in your life.
SEVILLE APRIL FAIR
This is, without a doubt, the Sevillian festivity par excellence. Without having recovered completely from Holy Week, you will go fully into the Seville April Fair (Feria de Abril or Feria de Sevilla). Over the years it has become the largest and most crowded celebration in Seville, and has been declared a National Tourist Interest Festivity. Here not only the inhabitants of Seville or the rest of Spain meet, but also from many parts of the world, attracted by the popularity and authenticity of this fair.
In an area called Real de la Feria you will find streets with countless casetas (stands) adorned with lanterns and flowers, through which riders and horse-drawn carriages pass. The April Fair is very close to the bullfighting season.
If you want to live an authentic festivity to the rhythm of flamenco, you should definitely go to the Seville April Fair.
CRUCES DE MAYO (MAY CROSSES)
Of pagan origin, this festivity was Christianized and the crosses, adorned with flowers and decorative elements, go out in procession thanks to the different brotherhoods of the city. Around them people dance, sing and eat happily.
CORPUS CHRISTI FEAST
It is celebrated on the eighth Thursday after Holy Thursday. This religious feast is implanted in the Council of Trent to celebrate the presence of Christ in the Holy Sacraments. In Seville, there is a procession through the city in an act in which devotion unites brotherhoods with civil, military and religious authorities.
EL ROCÍO
The Romería del Rocío is celebrated in honour of the Virgen del Rocío, which is located in the hermitage of El Rocío, in Huelva. This celebration takes place during the weekend of Pentecost Monday. The brotherhoods and the most devout pilgrims go on a pilgrimage from Seville to the hermitage of El Rocío, either on foot, on horseback or in carriages. This pilgrimage passes through the Doñana National Park. Once in Huelva, they take the Virgen del Rocío, known as “Blanca Paloma”, on the shoulders in a procession. This is one of the most popular pilgrimages.
FESTIVIDAD DE SAN FERNANDO (ST. FERDINAND’S DAY)
Seville’s Patron Saint’s Day, Ferdinand III of Castile, is celebrated on May 30 inside the Seville Cathedral, where the casket with the incorrupt body of the monarch is open. It is not only a religious act, but also a military and civil one during which there is a mass and a parade.
LAS LÁGRIMAS DE SAN PEDRO (SAINT PETER’S TEARS)
On June 29 St. Peter’s day is celebrated, commemorating with Las Lágrimas de San Pedro (literally, St. Peter’s Tears), an act quite unknown even for some Sevillians. Six buglers play the bugle, representing the tears of St. Peter after denying three times the fact of having met Jesus. The bugle calls are repeated four times: once from the bell tower of the Giralda and the other three from the three remaining faces of the tower.
CRISTO DE SAN AGUSTÍN
Every 2nd of July a votive function is celebrated in Seville to the Cristo de San Agustín to thank him for his protection over the city of Seville after a plague epidemic in 1649, which ended with almost half of the existing population in the city of Seville. In the Hospital de las Cinco Llagas, which is now headquarters of the Andalusian Parliament, they couldn’t cope with the wounded people and, besides, the crowd would bunch up in front of the hospital to be looked after. This image was depicted in a painting by an unknown author called “Plague of 1649”.
VELÁ DE TRIANA
In July and for 6 days the great days of Triana are celebrated. The Velá de Triana, in honour of the apostle Santiago and Santa Ana, is also known as Velá de Santiago and Santa Ana. It attracts a large number of tourists and visitors, curious to get to know a little more about the customs of the people from Triana. There are many sports activities during the day, as well as cultural, social and, of course, religious ones. In the evenings, the casetas on the famous Betis Street offer a festive atmosphere.
VIRGEN DE LOS REYES’ DAY
On August 15, the Seville Patron Saint’s Day, Virgen de los Reyes, is celebrated. The venerated Virgin goes out in procession in the morning through the streets adjoining to the Seville Cathedral.
SEVILLE EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL
In November, the best of European cinema meet at the European Film Festival in Seville for nine days. With the intention of promoting European films, the festival features both full-length films and short films, as well as special screenings, colloquiums and tributes.
NEW YEAR’S EVE
On December 31 at night there are many people who meet in Plaza Nueva to eat the traditional twelve grapes and celebrate the New Year. After the Town Hall clock chime, firecrackers and fireworks start the party.
On TUDESTINO we are sure that, whatever festivity in Seville you go, you will have a great time. Seville never disappoints!