Fiestas in Castilla y Leon

Fiestas in Castilla y Leon

El Colacho – Sun after Corpus Christi, May/June – Castillo de Murcia, Burgos

Babies born during the previous 12 months are dressed in their best Sunday clothes and laid on mattresses in the streets.

Crowds of people, including the anxious parents, watch as El Colacho – a man dressed in a bright red and yellow costume – jumps over the babies in order to free them from illnesses, especially hernias. He is said to represent the devil fleeing from the sight of the Eucharist. This ritual is thought to have originated in 1621.

St Agatha’s Day – Sunday closest to 5 February – Zamarramala, Segovia

Every year two women are elected as mayoresses to run the village on the day of St Agatha, patron saint of married women. They ceremonially burn a stuffed figure representing a man.

Good Friday, Valladolid

The procession of 28 multicoloured sculptures which depict various scenes of the Passion is one of the most spectacular in Spain.

Fire-walking – 23 June – San Pedro Manrique, Soria

Men, some carrying people on their backs, walk barefoot over burning embers. It is said the only local people can do this without being burned.

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