If you've ever been present as I explain the history of some parts of the city, you may have heard me mention a saint, calling them the patron saint of the city. Maybe you’ve heard this more than once, but with a different name each time, thinking, “...But didn't you just say someone else was the patron saint?!”
Yes, I did. Just hear me out...
Yes, I did. Just hear me out...
Barcelona actually has 2 co-patron saints for the city, Santa Eulàlia and the Virgin of Mercy, and one patron saint of the region of Catalunya, Sant Jordi. Each one is celebrated throughout the city in different forms. The biggest celebration (EVER.) is La Mercè, which happens in September as the city's summer Festa Major (like a main festival). With all of the hype that goes into this festival, you would find it surprising that the underdog, Santa Eulàlia, was actually the original patron saint of the city, and she held that spot alone for 1000 years. Additionally, there are many more homages to her found throughout the city. Maybe it's the misfortune that the timing of her death happened in winter, whereas the Virgin of Mercy died in the summer – just in time to cap off the summer's many festivities with a big bang.
However, in recent years, Santa Eulàlia's celebrations – the winter Festa Major, which is always celebrated around February 12th – have increased in popularity and programming, giving La Mercè notable competition. One element that has effectively “illuminated” the celebrations is the festival of lights, which was incorporated five years ago. The festival of lights, Llum BCN, essentially divides the festival into two parts – day of culture and night of lights – collaborating with local schools of art, design, lighting, and architecture to produce light installations and shows. The growth of this has been really incredible to see first-hand; I remember the first years when they had a simple route of light installations and some projections, and now it's full blown Mercè-quality light shows. (Okay, I know it's kind of sad to compare them to the Mercè, but it is especially interesting that one of the main projections during Santa Eulàlia is the recycled projections on the city hall from past years of the Mercè festival…)
Anyways, with the festival being split into two sections, that now means that when you enter the website, you get two options for which “site” you want to enter – for the day or the night. It also means the program has two faces – literally, you flip to the back cover and turn it upside down...YIKES! So many options now...
For the cultural part of the celebrations, the city brings out all of the traditional and folkloric characters and acts to celebrate their Santa Eulàlia. You see the various dance troupes, the beasts, the giants, the correfocs, and the castellers. There are various reenactments, performances, and processions commemorating Eulàlia and her tragic history. One year, the castellers performed at night with lights!
But speaking of the giants… I always find the tradition and movement of the giants to be particularly amusing with every festival, because they are treated and mentioned as if they were absolutely real figures. They get their own parades, special ceremonies, and special mentions of where they sleep on certain nights. They even have costume parties! Especially bemusing is that during this winter celebration, all of the giants CHANGE THEIR NAMES to Laia (nickname for Eulàlia) as a special nod, and as a result, the final parade of the giants is called something like the “Tour of the ‘Laias’” - “Laias” being all of the giants who are temporarily renamed Laia. This year, there will be a special exhibition of the giants in the Palau de la Virreina, set up by artist Josep Maria Civit, where they will be on display in a catwalk as if they were 21st century models.
As mentioned, this festival has been a great showcase for many talents from the local art (etc.) schools as well more well known audiovisual artists such as (one of my personal favorites) the hilarious Jordi Teixidó. Creative light installations are set up in various routes throughout the old town. In some cases patios or courtyards are transformed, plazas have projections, fountains have water shows, etc. Some spaces are interactive or participatory, and others you can walk through. One cool sort of “easter egg” is that if you look closely at some of the installations, you may notice various elements that have been placed as a tribute to the story of Santa Eulàlia’s martyrdom - for example broken glass or the number 13. Read the history at the bottom to understand why this is significant!
Every year as new spaces are created, more dynamic entertainment is installed, and more pages are added to the program, it becomes increasingly difficult to be able to see and enjoy everything. But that’s just the fun of it!
Don’t miss out! This year the festival is February 10th-12th. The website, program, and pocket planner are linked below:
lameva.barcelona.cat/santaeulalia
lameva.barcelona.cat/santaeulalia
SUPER Clipped Mention of Notable Events and Times:
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
- Opening Ceremony - 8:15pm - Plaça Sant Jaume
- Eulàlia dance performance - 9pm - Cathedral
- Light installations and shows - 7pm-12am - Various routes through the old town
Saturday
- Baby Correfocs - 6:15 - Plaça Sant Jaume-Ramblas-Plaça Reial
- Big Correfocs - 8pm - Plaça Nova (in front of the Cathedral)-Plaça Sant Jaume
- Light installations and shows - 7pm-12am - Various routes through the old town
Sunday
- Castellers - 11am - Plaça Sant Jaume
- Procession and dance of the "Laias" - 6:30 - Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol-old town streets-Plaça de Sant Jaume
- Light installations and shows - 7-11pm - Various routes through the old town
Feel free to COMMENT below regarding any questions about the festival/activities for this year.
History of Santa Eulàlia
For those of you who are curious about the history of Santa Eulàlia and how she became a saint in the first place, I’ll give a brief summary here:
There are several versions of the story, but the main gist goes that Santa Eulàlia was Christian girl who lived up in the (at the time) town of Sarria and took care of geese in the early 300s. During this time, the Romans were persecuting Christians for their faith. When she was 13, she left her home to seek out the governor of Barcelona to criticize the actions against the Christians. Enraged, the governor mandated that she be tortured in 13 different ways for the 13 years that she was alive. The different methods included being imprisoned in a dark cell, whipped, having her nails pulled off, throwing her into a pit of fleas, thrown in a barrel full of broken glass and knives, and ultimately being crucified. Her official day is the 12th of February.
Santa Eulàlia is celebrated in other regions and countries as well, and the histories can be a bit fuzzy. Who’s to say if this girl really existed or really lived in Barcelona (or the then Barcino)? One thing for sure is the fact that the Barcelona version of the story mentions a number of streets and locations that can be found in the city today, with small notes or shrines commemorating her.
There are several versions of the story, but the main gist goes that Santa Eulàlia was Christian girl who lived up in the (at the time) town of Sarria and took care of geese in the early 300s. During this time, the Romans were persecuting Christians for their faith. When she was 13, she left her home to seek out the governor of Barcelona to criticize the actions against the Christians. Enraged, the governor mandated that she be tortured in 13 different ways for the 13 years that she was alive. The different methods included being imprisoned in a dark cell, whipped, having her nails pulled off, throwing her into a pit of fleas, thrown in a barrel full of broken glass and knives, and ultimately being crucified. Her official day is the 12th of February.
Santa Eulàlia is celebrated in other regions and countries as well, and the histories can be a bit fuzzy. Who’s to say if this girl really existed or really lived in Barcelona (or the then Barcino)? One thing for sure is the fact that the Barcelona version of the story mentions a number of streets and locations that can be found in the city today, with small notes or shrines commemorating her.