Tag Archives: Cruces de Mayo

Granada | Cruces de Mayo and the Feria of Corpus Christi

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There are always good reasons to visit Granada. The best known is Europe’s most visited monumental complex, the Alhambra Palace, last refuge of the Moors in Spain, and capital of the Nasrid dynasty of Spain for 250 years until it surrendered to the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. There are also the historic neighbourhoods of the Albaicin, Realejo and Sacramonte to explore, and the bars and restaurants of San Matias to sample some of the local hospitality. But this time of year, as spring turns to summer, is when Granada puts on its gladrags and celebrates some of its major festivals.

granada cruz mayo (1)Cruz de Mayo at Mirador de San Cristobal [photo courtesy of John Sullivan]

The first of these is the Cruces del Mayo (May Crosses), held on May 3, although celebrations continue for several days around the official one. According to the stories this is the day when Saint Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, discovered the pieces of the True Cross of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, but this event has been assimilated to a pagan spring flower festival. The result is the appearance of flower-decked crosses in the streets and plazas of the city (this year about 80 of them), with a competition for the best. The festival has a special emphasis on children, who build their own crosses and parade them through the streets.

granada corpus (2)Dragon float

Undoubtedly the principal attraction of this time of year, and in fact Granada’s biggest annual festival, is around Corpus Christi (this year falling on June 4), and includes Granada’s feria, bullfighting, the Corpus Christi religious processions, and the essentially pagan procession of La Tarasca. The Feria of Granada starts officially at midnight on Saturday May 30 with the Alumbrao, the switching on of the lights, though people will start coming to the fairground earlier in the day. It ends at midnight the following Saturday with a fireworks display. Like most Spanish fairs the daytime is for the parades of horses and carriages, their riders and drivers in traditional costume, and everything and everyone at their smartest and shiniest. Night time is for eating and drinking and dancing flamenco.

From Thursday June 4 to Sunday June 7 is Granada’s main bullfighting season, with fights at the bullring each evening at 7 pm.

granada corpus (1)La Tarasca

At midday on Wednesday is Granada’s famous La Tarasca procession. The participants wear big papier-mache heads and fancy dress costumes (which are a closely guarded secret until the parade assembles in the Plaza del Carmen), but the centrepieces are the gigantes – statues of famous historical figures, and the traditional fire-breathing dragon. It’s colourful and noisy in the best carnival tradition and draws huge crowds of both locals and visitors, so arrive early if you want a “ringside seat”. This is the most popular day of the holiday, so afterwards the partying will carry on until the small hours, so you need plenty of stamina.

granada corpusCorpus Christi altar

The following day (starting at the Cathedral at 10.15 am) is the religious procession of Corpus Christi, the Catholic celebration of the Eucharist. This is the solemn and serious part of the holiday, and is still a popular day in the religious calendar, with large numbers paying their respects to the Sacrament as it’s carried through the streets.

granada cruz mayo (3)Cruz de Mayo at San Agustín Market [photo courtesy of John Sullivan]

If you’re coming to Granada for the celebrations we still have apartments for rent in locations around the city centre and old town.

Granada | Las Cruces de Mayo – May Crosses

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Also known as La Fiesta de las Cruces (the Festival of Crosses), the Cruz de Mayo is a spring flower festival widely celebrated in Spain, most especially in the south, in Andalucia, on May 3, and in some localities also on the days around. As you might expect of a flower festival, this is one of the most vibrantly colourful events of the year, even in a country noted for being colourful.

Although the celebrations have long had an official religious justification (May 3 is said to be the date when Saint Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, discovered the pieces of the True Cross), its origins are almost certainly Pagan, and probably evolved from the ancient Roman festival of Liberalia.

Although many places add their own local elements to the celebrations, the basic features are common everywhere. Groups of neighbours make big crosses out of flowers to decorate their patios, plazas and street corners, and this often takes the form of a competition, with prizes for the best displays. Red and white carnations predominate in the crosses, but other spring flowers, local ceramics, shawls (on the balconies), candles, and even copper pots may appear around them. Their may also be processions with floats and marching bands.

The Cruz de Mayo in Granada is one of the biggest and most popular, with the working class districts of the Albaicin and Realejo being the places to go to see the displays, and to join in with the singing and dancing. In the past it was traditional to set up temporary bars near the crosses, but for better or worse, in these more regimented times the custom has largely disappeared, though the tapas bars are still lively and full.

In Seville the festival of the crosses has enjoyed something of a revival in recent decades, having been eclipsed in the 20th century by Semana Santa and the April Fair, and the decline of the traditional patios de vecinos. It’s a joy to see the colour and vibrancy returned to the streets.

For some great places to stay in Seville and Granada visit the veoapartment webpage.