Las Luminarias Festival 2025 in Spain

Spaniards are renowned for their vibrant celebrations, and the Las Luminarias festival is no exception. While it may not match the global fame of Valencia's Las Fallas, this equally captivating tradition offers a unique spectacle. Believed to date back over 500 years to the time of the plague, Las Luminarias serves as a ritual of purification and protection for animals, ensuring their well-being for the year ahead.

Festival Highlights

Las Luminarias traditions combine the pre-Christian magical rituals of local peasants with Catholic beliefs. About 600 villagers in the province of Avila annually gather on the outskirts of the city to conduct a fire ceremony for the purification of their horses. Those brave souls able to hold their mounts through the flames of a huge bonfire will be protected from diseases and other misfortunes for a whole year.

Schedule

At 7:30 pm, the evening mass for San Antón begins. Following the mass, the steward responsible for organizing the event and the "jurors" ensure that the bonfires are properly lit. Around 9 pm, with the local priest's blessing, riders and their horses commence the tradition of leaping over the bonfires, marking the start of the festival of lights. This continues into the late hours as riders from the village and nearby towns jump over every bonfire along the route. The festivities conclude the following day with "Las Cintas," a lively race where riders compete to snatch ribbons suspended from a rope.

Location

The Las Luminarias festival occurs on the evening of January 16th, the eve of St. Anthony's Day, in the village of San Bartolomé de Pinares, located near the provincial capital of Ávila. While celebrated in various towns across Spain, the most renowned festivities are held in San Bartolomé de Pinares and Villar del Rey in Badajoz province. San Bartolomé de Pinares is a small municipality in the Comarca de Pinares, Ávila, approximately 100 kilometers from Madrid.

Balancing Tradition and Animal Care

The festival has faced criticism from animal rights groups over concerns about the welfare of the horses involved. However, organizers emphasize that strict precautions are in place, and riders take great care to ensure their animals remain unharmed by the flames.