Fogueres de Sant Joan

Hey all,

Okay, so I wasn't entirely sure what to put up here... but whilst looking stuff up I sorta found the Catalan equivalent of our bonfire night, and given that it's coming up I thought that would be rather appropriate. Anyway, it's called Fogueres de Sant Joan, or Bonfires of St. John, and is held at some time around the 24th of June in several towns around Spain, however it is particularly popular in the Catalan speaking areas.

Generally, people bring all sorts to burn, and there are many traditions, one of the more dangerous being that children and teenagers jump over fires...

They often celebrate with fireworks displays like us,
 and there are three different types of costume worn. The first costume is for the Queen of the festival, called the Beauty and she dresses like this :

Then there is a set costume for women called Labradora, and for men called Zaragüelles which unfortunately I cannot find pictures for. 

There are also big noisy parties that take place all night, and other events that take place over 3 or 4 days such as bull fights and street band parades.

Overall, it looks much more interesting than our bonfire night, which is generally rather cold, and more often than not raining. Good stuff.

Rachel.