Valencia celebrates Las Fallas

Las Fallas is one of the largest and brightest spring holidays in Spain, which traditionally starts on March 15.

Las Fallas takes place simultaneously in several Spanish cities. The main festival procession Fallas de Valencia is held in Valencia. Here all visitors can see the most elegant and unusual papier-mache sculptures, which are the main characters of the holiday. In Valencia they are known as Nino.

The main events of the Fallas festival will take place from 15 to 19 March. But, as usually, locals and visitors in Valencia have started celebrating the holiday already on March 10. The central venue of the event is the main square of Valencia - Plaça de l'Ajuntament.

For several years Fallas has been recognized as the festival of world importance. It is considered to be one of the main intangible attractions of Valencia. The parade of giant statues and festival culmination - burning of statues – is a kind of symbiosis between pagan and Christian traditions. Officially Fallas festival is celebrated in honor of St. Joseph - the husband of the Virgin Mary and patron saint of carpenters.

Fallas is a festival of fire. It got its name from the Latin word fax - a torch. In modern Valencia fire worship during the Fallas is reflected in thousands of firecrackers and fireworks, which can be continuously seen and heard during the event. These fireworks are called La Mascletà.

The main time of day during Fallas is night. Starting from March 15 every night is celebrated by fiery performances. The scale of performances is growing by the end of the festival. The feast ends with a fiery spectacle, which was called La Nit del Foc – the Night of Fire.

On the eve of the main night event, which will be held in Valencia on the night of March 19, the Spanish national railway operator Renfe announced about increasing the number of commuter trains during the holiday night. During the festival will be operating 2,000 trains, 209 of which will work at night.

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