Visitors to Lanzarote could be forgiven for thinking that there is always a fiesta or festival taking place somewhere on the island. As there are numerous dates in the annual calendar when locals celebrate some aspect of their history or culture.
Three Kings
This is also known as Epiphany and falls on the evening of 5th January. Known as Los Reyes Magos, it is the celebration of the three wise men arriving at Bethlehem to honour the infant Christ. And it is widely celebrated across Spain and the Canary Islands, thanks to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church.
Carnival
The festivities known as Carnival in the Canary Islands occur in February and March and feature fancy dress processions, drag-queen competitions and live music over a number of days.
Each separate municipality celebrates Carnival at a different time, with Arrecife leading the way, followed by Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise and Playa Blanca. In 2009, the Arrecife Carnival begins on 17th February and runs until 25th, and Puerto del Carmen’s Carnival begins on 26th February.
Easter
This was traditionally celebrated with processions that represent the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. The most important days are still Palm Sunday, when palm leaves are blessed with holy water, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Increasingly, the occasion is marked by church attendance, with only the procession of the Cross still being marked.
Dia de la Cruz
This fiesta is of particular importance in the towns of Teguise and Tias, where it is celebrated every 3rd May.
In Tias the tradition is that locals hang small crosses covered with flowers on their doors from very early in the morning and later in the day travel to Montaña Blanca to do the same there to the cross at the top of the mountain. In Teguise, numerous large crosses adorn the streets of the town and these too are decorated with flowers, so that the cross appears to be made of them.
Corpus Christi
A fiesta that forms part of the religious calendar, the day is celebrated with the creation of pictures made of coloured salt on the pavements and roads of the municipal centres. Groups of islanders will work out their designs well in advance and then lay out the picture on the day. The date changes according to when Easter falls, but is generally in early June.
San Juan
This is the Spanish equivalent of the midsummer solstice and falls on the evening of the 23rd June, celebrated with bonfires all over the island. On Lanzarote it is also when locals in the past used to go and bathe in the sea, and was possibly for many farm workers the only day that they would spend at the beach.
Constitution Day
This is a bank holiday and falls on 6th December. And is usually an occasion for locals to take a ‘puente’ or several days off at a time, as the 8th December is also a public holiday.
Island Fiestas
Virgen de las Nieves
This falls on 5th August and consisted of a pilgrimage from the Famara massif northwards. This type of pilgrimage dates back to the time of the conquistadors in the fifteenth century. The Virgin has always been an important figure within latin culture and was often the recipient of prayers from local people in times of invasion, during locust plagues, epidemics and above all, when the rainfall was scarce.
San Marcial
The patron saint of the island, San Marcial, is celebrated on 7th July and has its origins in the eighteenth century, although the saint is actually the oldest in the Canaries. This fiesta also involves a pilgrimage, to Femes, the small village tucked away in the Atalaya de Femes, above Yaiza.
Los Dolores
An extremely important date in the Lanzarote calendar of fiestas, this festivity is held annually to celebrate the miracle of Dolores, a local woman who prayed for the cessation of the lava flows before they reached her village, Mancha Blanca.
Held every 15th September, the fiesta draws Lanzaroteños from all over the island, who often participate in the ‘Romeria’ or pilgrimage, which involves walking to Mancha Blanca from wherever they live. The festivities are usually extended over three days and nights, culminating in a huge party featuring live music, food and drink stalls and a procession that sees the saint’s effigy taken out of the church and paraded through the town.
Nuestra Señora del Carmen
On 16th July is the fiesta of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, the patron saint of fishermen. Celebrated in various parts of the island, the most populous festivities take place in Puerto del Carmen, where the saint’s effigy is taken out of the church, placed in a boat and taken out to sea to bless the coming year’s catch. In fact, this fiesta is widely celebrated in many fishing communities across Spain.
San Gines
This is the patron saint of Arrecife and the fiesta de San Gines falls on 25th August. In the past it was an occasion for dancing, in three distinct zones of the city, whilst nowadays the main celebrations consist of a large fireworks display.
Constitution Day
This is a bank holiday and falls on 6th December. And is usually an occasion for locals to take a ‘puente’ or several days off at a time, as the 8th December is also a public holiday.
