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ss | | | | | | From 13 to 19 March, Valencia celebrates one of Spain's best known festivals: Las Fallas.  The Fallas are enormous models made out of papier mache, wood and wax, and often characaturing Spanish social and political current affairs. The models are burnt on the night of 19 March in a festival of fire, fireworks and organized mayhem. Fireworks and firecrackers play a big role in any fiestas held in this region, and Fallas is no exception. Be careful of firecrackers being thrown along the street by youngsters. And be prepared for the ground to shake with the force of the fireworks display which begins at midnight.
There are various theories concerning the origins of Fallas. Some claim that the festivals have been celebrated in Valencia since the Middle Ages when carpenters used to light a bonfire on 19th March, St Joseph Day. Joseph - José in Spanish - is the Patron Saint of Valencia, and St Joseph's Day is Fathers Day all over Spain. A second theory suggests that the tradition of lighting bonfires in honour of the saints arose from pagan customs which the Church accepted and adapted to its own interests, because their popularity made them impossible to ban. The Fallas are divided into seven important stages. The city is adorned in decorations and fallas, and public enthusiasm takes to the streets. During the week the following ceremonies take place: the nomination and proclamation of the Fallas Queens (whose role will last all year as they will be called on to form part of the dignatories invited to participate in local and regional events), the Exaltation, the Crida, the Cavalcade of the Ninot, the Offering of Flowers, the Planta and the Cremá. The Crema is the culmination of the Fallas. For some it is the saddest moment, while for others it is the highest point of the festival. The Fallas are lit on the night of St. Joseph, 19th March. The last ones to be burnt are the fallas which have won prizes for the best ones (there are several categories under which fallas compete). One "ninot" is saved each year, from the flames by popular vote, and exhibited in the Museum of the Ninot. When at about midnight Valencia literally goes up in flames as more than three hundred fires are burnt throughout the city, the spectacle is as awesome as it is unforgettable. | | In the spring, as the days became longer, the lamps were not needed and were ceremoniously burnt at the workshop door. To this small fire the craftsmen added off-cuts, wood shavings and leftovers from around the neighbourhood. The old lamp was placed in a vertical position in the centre, decorated with old rags and a hat, giving it a human form - the Ninot / Falla
On the 1st of March, the first of the mascletas (an explosion of firecrackers) in the square in front of the City Hall announces the start of the festival period, although the most important events begin on the 16th, by which time the city has been decorated with over 700 symbols and figures. Throughout the day, mass gatherings take place including the despertas (a firecracker wake-up call to the neighbourhood) and magnificent firework displays.
The biggest and most spectacular event is the Ofrenda de Flores a la Virgen de los Desamparados (a floral offering to our Lady of the Forsaken): On the 17th and 18th of March, from 4pm until nightfall, there is an enormous multi-coloured parade; with the members of the Fallas wearing their marvellous, intricately decorated, traditional costumes and carrying bunches of flowers as an offering to their Patron Saint.
At midnight on the 19th, the dramatic closing act takes place. A massive bonfire is built and the ninots, so carefully prepared in the previous months are set ablaze and destroyed: all except one, saved by the votes of the falleros, and destined to be preserved forever in the Fallero Museum.
The evolution of the festival as we know it today began in the second half of the 19th century. The fallas and ninots are ephemeral, ornamental and satirical symbols placed in the streets of the city as a humorous social or political comment. They may be human, animal or vegetable in form, portraying a critique of a local, national or international incident, personality or character. There is great irony involved and the ceremonial burning is an act of purification that takes place at midnight on el
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