January

Procession of the Saint Christ in El Pont d’Armentera (30th January)

The tradition, the devotion and the most intimate gratitude are present in El Pont d’Armentera during the acts of the Procession of the Saint Christ that are celebrated every year on the 3rd of January. The entire village, and every time more visitors, share this religious tradition which is next to be 200 years. The devotion of the village for the Saint Christ have existed from immemorial times; but it has increased in exponential way since the first years of the 19th century when, according to the tradition, the Saint Image let El Port d’Armentera off from the French invasion in year 1809.

The festive acts start with the celebration of a solemn service that continues with the beginning of the procession; the image of the Saint Christ is loaded on the shoulders of the neighbours who share the weight of the figure while it advances. The Procession covers practically all the streets of the village with solemnity; even the narrowest ones, that help to create an environment of privacy and respect. We are talking about a very celebrated party, where all the inhabitants participate actively switching on candles that illuminate the step of the procession and singing the Goigs for the praise of the Saint Christ of this town. The music accompanies the escort until the return of the image to the Parish Church of El Pont D'armentera, finished in 1302. Once the Saint Christ has been given back its original place, the participants of the party make a brief prayer, sing different Goigs and come around the Holy Image for worshipping it.



Els Tres Tombs (16th January)

It is a celebration hold in numerous towns of Catalonia. It is one of the most traditionals parties of the Tarragonese lands and it is always coincident with the day of Saint Antoni. Every year, Valls is the city which starts the new season of Els Tres Tombs in the country; it gives the signal to start a tradition that let us to travel along many villages and towns which, since more or less time ago, celebrate the festivity of the Saint Patron of the beasts.

In Valls, the meeting point of the celebration is the New Portal. Here the components of this old tradition are gathered and they remember the suffering and work of the former carriers: old carriages, magnificent animals and expert cart drivers who lead those animals along the streets and tortuous alleys of the village. All they load very full sacks of straw, grain, fruit, boots of wine, vine shoots flushes, wood or carriers, to carry the burden until the end of the itinerary and remembering the work of that pople who lived with accuracy that ancient profession. The flag of the Society of Saint Antoni leads the cart driver bustle, together with its centennial Pennon and the image of the Saint on top of a magnificent carriage. The traditional music - la banda and els grallers - follows the delegation during Els Tres Tombs and it finishes with the arrival of the carriers or traginers at the Plaça del Blat and the Carrer Major, nerve centre of the city’s life, where the control of the machine and the animals is more complicated.

Encamisada of Sant Antoni in Falset (15th and 16th January)

For these dates Falset celebrates the typical Encamisada of Sant Antoni, which remembers the fight of the carriers against the invading army during the war of Succession (principles of the 18th century) or during the War of the French (principles of the 19th century). Every year they live the party of Sant Antoni following the tradition in a strict way. On Saturday the party is announced at noon with a chime of bells and rockets. In the evening, the carriages meet in front of the Cooperative Cellar and, preceded by the devils and the band, they arrive at the church of Santa Maria, where the speech announcement ends with the traditional dance. On Sunday, in the early morning, the acts start with the blessing of horses and other beasts in front of the church, while people wait for a good breakfast, which is called ‘the cart driver’s breakfast’.

The urban landscape changes and the inhabitants of Falset wear the traditional Catalan clothing for this party. The carriages that participate are farmer’s carriages, which are adorned with branch of pine, garlands and flowers of paper; they are tightened by horses or donkeys also dressed up. The escort starts from the Cooperative Cellar and it follows an order rigorously established until the church where the Solemn Profession is celebrated. During the profession the Jota of Falset is danced within the church and the buns which are sold at the exit are blessed. The course resumes its way towards the hermitage of Sant Gregori where the youngsters of Falset raise the image of Sant Antoni on shoulder.

Party of the Calçotada in Valls (30th January)

The Party of the Calçotada, gastronomic speciality based on tender onions, its sauce and its complements, scrolls every year floods of people among the months of November and April. As the ancestral tradition says, a good calçotada or "calçotada with angel”, must have the mountain range of Miramar as a backdrop and a farmhouse of Valls as a stage. Valls, which is the origin city of the calçotada, celebrate this party already more than a hundred years ago. Since the end of the 19th century, the families of Valls celebrate this party in a traditional way, sustaining the habit from generation to generation. That is why Valls is known like the capital of the calçot.

Valls celebrates the Big Party of the Calçotada around the streets and squares of the city which are marked of typism and bustle. A varied program of popular acts and competitions related with this vegetable are carried out: passacaglias, demonstrations of copper calçots on the grill, competitions of calçots’ cultivators, of sauce of the calçotada, of eating calçots, tasting, folkloric elements dances, etc.