Street altars are a major part of the festivities during the fiesta de San Vicente Ferrer in Valencia, Spain.
As elaborate and grand as a real altar, a Valencian street altar is constructed complete with religious symbols and imagery but it is not one intended for prayer.
Today, April 16, the city of Valencia, Spain is celebrating the Feast Day of San Vicente Ferrer. The fiesta is much less known than the world-famous week-long Valencian festival known as Las Fallas, which is by all indications a huge, rowdy, fiery celebration (hence its popularity particularly with the college-age crowd).
The Fiesta de San Vicente Ferrer is more laid-back and the focus of the festivities is on the city’s patron saint, with such activities as the Offering of Flowers and the so-called Street Altars. It is a good time to visit Valencia, if one hopes to take part in some cultural traditions and see the locals (instead of hordes of fellow tourists) in a more relaxed but still festive atmosphere.
Merry Christmas! This day, December 16, is considered the official start of the Christmas season in the Philippines. During the very early hours of the morning (literally before the gallo or rooster crows), millions troop to churches all over the country to hear the first of the pre-dawn masses celebrated daily until the 23rd. Traditional belief is that if one manages to attend all eight pre-dawn masses plus the midnight mass on Christmas eve, one will have a wish granted on Christmas Day.
