Interesting facts about southern Spain
The best months to visit southern Spain are April and May, October and November. Although the weather is agreeable at any time, july and August can be very hot. It can rain heavily in early September and be quite cold in the evenings in December and January, though the days will be sunny and pleasantly warm.
Snow falls on the Mulhacen peak and across the Sierra Nevada and lasts from late November to early May, but the weather in general tends to be sunny and warm. Temperatures rise to the 30s (50-90'F) during the summer months and fall to the mid to upper 20s (65-75'F) in the winter. Visitors in the winter will need a pullover, and a jacket or a top coat for the evenings. Visitors in summer will need cotton clothing, a shady hat, sunglasses and sun cream and, if they are going into the hills, a bottle of water.
Things to do in Andalusia
Southern Spain has two cultures, religion and tradition, and one or the other keeps the region busy with pilgrimages or fiestas throughout the year, with a concentration of events close to Christmas and Easter. Details of any local festivities can and should be obtained from the local tourist office. Do not be wary of attending; the local people will enjoy your company and make you welcome.
The main events include:
January 5th- The Three Kings Festival on Twelfth Night. This is held all over Spain and is mainly for the children. 10-15 Pilgrimage of Torre Garcia in Almeria. 17 Festival of San Anton (St Anthony). Held all over Southern Spain.
February - Carnival before Ash Wednesday. Held all over the region but especially in Cadiz, which has perhaps the most exciting carnival in Europe!
March - Holy Week in Seville. Processions, services, pilgrimages. Not an event to miss. Held also in Malaga, Jaen, Arcos de la Frontera, Baeza, Ubeda. At Baena, near Cordoba, a drum is beaten continuously for two days over Easter. Every town and almost every village in Southern Spain commemorates Holy Week.
April - The April Fair in Seville is the main event,held two weeks after Easter. The pilgrimage to Our Lady of Cabeza, on the last Sunday in April at Andujar, is a splendid affair with riders and horse-drawn carriages.
May - The celebration of May Day, with songs and the erection of holy crosses draped with flowers, in or outside private homes. This is a big event in Cordoba and linked into the Spring Fiesta de los Patios, where the courtyards of the houses are filled with flowers.
1-7 -Jerez Horse Fair. This is subject to equine fever restrictions and may be held at the end of April; check with the tourist boards. Whitsun pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady at Rodo, near Almonte Huelva. The most famous pilgrimage in Spain after the one to Santiago de Compostela. Up to a million pilgrims and visitors, many on horseback or in carriages.
June - Corpus Christi. Celebrated all over Spain, but in Andalusia especially at Cordoba, Zahara de la Sierra, and Seville. At Seville, six boys dance before the altar in red costumes and then lead the Corpus Christi procession, which includes gigantes, people wearing giant papier-mache heads, and people in masks. 23rd - Eve of John the Baptist celebrations with bonfires in Vispera de Sanjuan. 24 Fair of John the Baptist. At Cadiz the summer solstice is also celebrated.
July 9-14 - Wine Fair and Fiesta at Montilla, near Cordoba. 25 Fiesta of StJames (Santiago) of Compostela, the patron saint of Spain, celebrated all over Southern Spain but especially in Granada, the Alpujarras villages,Jaen and Cadiz .
August 5 - Pilgrimage of the Virgin of Nieves at Trevelez (Granada). The pilgrimage ascends the peak of the Mulhacen. 15 The Assumption. A public holiday in Spain and a big religious festival. 18-21 Fiesta de la Guadalquivir at Sanlucar de Barrameda.
September 6 - Annual encounter that takes place between the men of Gaudiz and the men of Baza (Granada). A goodhumoured brawl for the right to hold the statue of the Virgin of Piety. 7-14 - Moscatel Fiesta, Chipiona. A gypsy festival well known for first-class flamenco. Wine festival and Harvest Fair, at Palma del Condado. This little wine centre's own festival is held at various dates in September, Check with tourist office. 29 - Festival of St Raphael the Archangel and all Angels, especially in Cordoba and at the pilgrimage of Raphael in the Albaicin district of Granada.
October 3 - Sunday Virgin del Valme pilgrimage at Seville. 7 - Fiesta of the Virgin of the Rosario at Mojkar. 19 - Fiesta of San Pedro de Alein tara (Town).
November 1 - All Saints Day. Family festival and fiestas. 2 All Souls Day. Visits to family grave plots; day of remembrance.
December 25 - Nativity; Christmas Day. 28 Day of the Holy Innocents; some churches elect a Boy Bishop. 31 New Year's Eve. The Spanish tradition is to pop a grape into your mouth at each stroke of midnight and try to swallow the lot before the last chime. Those who succeed will enjoy a lot of luck in the coming year but it isn't easy.
Spain is famous for its festivals and ferias, and wherever you are in southern Spain, try to go to as many town celebrations as possible, because nobody does it quite like the Andalusians. Malaga Feria in August is well worth a visit as the processions parade through the streets in a riot of colour and noise, and the Seville April Fair is also one of the most famous on the southern Spanish Calendar. Take your time to explore Andalusia by car and you can visit historic cities such as Granada, sunbathe in the jet-set resorts of Marbella and Puerto Banus and enjoy a night at a flamenco bar in Seville.
Snow falls on the Mulhacen peak and across the Sierra Nevada and lasts from late November to early May, but the weather in general tends to be sunny and warm. Temperatures rise to the 30s (50-90'F) during the summer months and fall to the mid to upper 20s (65-75'F) in the winter. Visitors in the winter will need a pullover, and a jacket or a top coat for the evenings. Visitors in summer will need cotton clothing, a shady hat, sunglasses and sun cream and, if they are going into the hills, a bottle of water.
Things to do in Andalusia
Southern Spain has two cultures, religion and tradition, and one or the other keeps the region busy with pilgrimages or fiestas throughout the year, with a concentration of events close to Christmas and Easter. Details of any local festivities can and should be obtained from the local tourist office. Do not be wary of attending; the local people will enjoy your company and make you welcome.
The main events include:
January 5th- The Three Kings Festival on Twelfth Night. This is held all over Spain and is mainly for the children. 10-15 Pilgrimage of Torre Garcia in Almeria. 17 Festival of San Anton (St Anthony). Held all over Southern Spain.
February - Carnival before Ash Wednesday. Held all over the region but especially in Cadiz, which has perhaps the most exciting carnival in Europe!
March - Holy Week in Seville. Processions, services, pilgrimages. Not an event to miss. Held also in Malaga, Jaen, Arcos de la Frontera, Baeza, Ubeda. At Baena, near Cordoba, a drum is beaten continuously for two days over Easter. Every town and almost every village in Southern Spain commemorates Holy Week.
April - The April Fair in Seville is the main event,held two weeks after Easter. The pilgrimage to Our Lady of Cabeza, on the last Sunday in April at Andujar, is a splendid affair with riders and horse-drawn carriages.
May - The celebration of May Day, with songs and the erection of holy crosses draped with flowers, in or outside private homes. This is a big event in Cordoba and linked into the Spring Fiesta de los Patios, where the courtyards of the houses are filled with flowers.
1-7 -Jerez Horse Fair. This is subject to equine fever restrictions and may be held at the end of April; check with the tourist boards. Whitsun pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady at Rodo, near Almonte Huelva. The most famous pilgrimage in Spain after the one to Santiago de Compostela. Up to a million pilgrims and visitors, many on horseback or in carriages.
June - Corpus Christi. Celebrated all over Spain, but in Andalusia especially at Cordoba, Zahara de la Sierra, and Seville. At Seville, six boys dance before the altar in red costumes and then lead the Corpus Christi procession, which includes gigantes, people wearing giant papier-mache heads, and people in masks. 23rd - Eve of John the Baptist celebrations with bonfires in Vispera de Sanjuan. 24 Fair of John the Baptist. At Cadiz the summer solstice is also celebrated.
July 9-14 - Wine Fair and Fiesta at Montilla, near Cordoba. 25 Fiesta of StJames (Santiago) of Compostela, the patron saint of Spain, celebrated all over Southern Spain but especially in Granada, the Alpujarras villages,Jaen and Cadiz .
August 5 - Pilgrimage of the Virgin of Nieves at Trevelez (Granada). The pilgrimage ascends the peak of the Mulhacen. 15 The Assumption. A public holiday in Spain and a big religious festival. 18-21 Fiesta de la Guadalquivir at Sanlucar de Barrameda.
September 6 - Annual encounter that takes place between the men of Gaudiz and the men of Baza (Granada). A goodhumoured brawl for the right to hold the statue of the Virgin of Piety. 7-14 - Moscatel Fiesta, Chipiona. A gypsy festival well known for first-class flamenco. Wine festival and Harvest Fair, at Palma del Condado. This little wine centre's own festival is held at various dates in September, Check with tourist office. 29 - Festival of St Raphael the Archangel and all Angels, especially in Cordoba and at the pilgrimage of Raphael in the Albaicin district of Granada.
October 3 - Sunday Virgin del Valme pilgrimage at Seville. 7 - Fiesta of the Virgin of the Rosario at Mojkar. 19 - Fiesta of San Pedro de Alein tara (Town).
November 1 - All Saints Day. Family festival and fiestas. 2 All Souls Day. Visits to family grave plots; day of remembrance.
December 25 - Nativity; Christmas Day. 28 Day of the Holy Innocents; some churches elect a Boy Bishop. 31 New Year's Eve. The Spanish tradition is to pop a grape into your mouth at each stroke of midnight and try to swallow the lot before the last chime. Those who succeed will enjoy a lot of luck in the coming year but it isn't easy.
Spain is famous for its festivals and ferias, and wherever you are in southern Spain, try to go to as many town celebrations as possible, because nobody does it quite like the Andalusians. Malaga Feria in August is well worth a visit as the processions parade through the streets in a riot of colour and noise, and the Seville April Fair is also one of the most famous on the southern Spanish Calendar. Take your time to explore Andalusia by car and you can visit historic cities such as Granada, sunbathe in the jet-set resorts of Marbella and Puerto Banus and enjoy a night at a flamenco bar in Seville.
Labels: Jerez Horse Fair, Seville
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