Lanzarote Fiestas And Festivals
Lanzarote boasts a full calendar of fiestas and festivals that run throughout the year which often causes visitors to book their holiday villas in Playa Blanca to coincide with their favourites, for instance, New Year, Nuestra Señora del Carmen and San Gines most of which are heavily attended by the locals who do like to party. It´s always busy on Lanzarote over Christmas and the New Year. And as a result villas in Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca, the two largest resorts, are usually booked out at this time. As families come to enjoy the spectacle of Dia del Reyes, which takes place on Epiphany, January 5th. This is when the local kids finally get their Christmas gifts, dispensed by three kings on camels who parade through all of the main resorts and towns on the island, dispensing presents. Head for Puerto del Carmen to enjoy one of the best of these processions.
Carnival in the Canaries isn´t as riotous as Rio, but its still a major event. With the island essentially shutting done for a few weeks as the locals prepare to let their hair down before Lent. A traditional fixture in most Catholic countries Carnival on Lanzarote is celebrated on different days around Lanzarote, creating a prolonged rolling celebration. Comprising processions with floats and marching bands that really brings the island to life every February.
Dia de Canarias is an annual holiday in late May that marks the date when the Canaries first gained autonomy from Spain. As a result May 30th has become a real celebration of Canarian culture that encompasses a wide range of events across the island. With even local supermarkets getting in on the act by offering free tastings of local foods and wines.
One of the most colourful annual events on the island is Corpus Christi. As locals band together to create intricate carpets of salt which depict key scenes from the bible. Salt used to be a big export product here and the island is very windy so it is used instead of flowers, which are the norm on other islands. On the Sunday of the event procession carrying religious icons emerge from the local churches and walk across these wonderful tableaus.
Los Dolores is a fantastic annual festival that takes place every September. And essentially comprises a pilgrimage conducted by thousands of locals to the village of Mancha Blanca. Where the lava flows that spilled out of erupting volcanoes finally came to a halt in 1824. In Mancha Blanca the event ends in a serious party as an icon of Los Dolores is paraded through the throng.
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