Sitges Local Customs

There's not a special tradition located in Sitges. For many people the main celebration is "Nochebuena" on 24th by night, but this tradition comes from the South of Spain. Christmas day, on the 25th, is celebrated in everywhere, in Catalunya is tradition to eat this day chicken with prunes. The day after, 26th, Sant Esteve, is the main celebration (only in Catalunya, the rest of Spain doesn't celebrate this day), and the people eats "canelons", that is like pasta full of meat.

On the 28th is the innocents day, and everybody makes jokes to the other people, that are the "inocentadas".

We call to the night of 31st "Nochevieja" (old night, direct translation from Spanish) and the people is pending of the 12 ringing bells (they do it live on TV). If you got to eat 12 grapes following the rhythm of the bells, the new year will be very good for you. Is not easy, if you make the mistake of looking the person besides you, that has the mouth full of grapes, you'll begin to laugh, but remember that you mouth is full of grapes too! So imagine the result. The truth is that is very funny.

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November is the most quiet month of the year in Sitges, in fact, is the month that some hotels and restaurants choose for having their holidays and others open only on weekends, but don't think that is dead, as many other places are still open. You always can find something to do.

The 1st of November, all Saints day, Catalunya celebrates the "Castanyada", the name comes from "castanya" (Spanish chestnut).

Is very typical to find "castanyers" or "castanyeres", who sell in the streets hot chestnuts and hot "boniatos", that is someting similar to a orange potato, but with a sweeter taste. The people also eat "panellets", a sweet made with almonds, sugar, eggs and "piñones" (pine fruits). The traditional drink of this day is the "moscatell", a very sweet wine.

This tradition comes from the old times, when the bells of the church played all the night for the death people. Friends and family used to help to the bell players and they ate those aliments, highly energetic, to resist all the night.

Unfortunately the "Castanyada" is beginning to be contaminated by the Anglo-Saxon Halloween, as many discos and other entertainment places prefer to celebrate it.

Did you know that the most important festival of fantastic cinema is made in Sitges?

They celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2007. So, if you like the horror and fantastic films, Sitges is the right place and beginning of October is the right moment.

Santa Tecla's day is the 23 of September and, if Sant Bartomeu is the patron of Sitges, she is the patroness. So here we go again: concerts, "castellers", "diables", the "drac" (dragon) and "aliga" (eagle), "gegants", typical dances and many, many other things.

The day of the fireworks is on 22 of September at 23:00 h. They do it also from the church area.

Even that Santa Tecla is "la festa petita" (the small celebration) I like it a lot, as is possible to enjoy with a lot of traditions and is not as full of people as Sant Bartomeu days.

Sant Bartomeu day is the 24th of August. He is the patron of Sitges, so all this week the town celebrate his Festa Major, the main one.

The streets are full of typical dances, concerts, "castellers", "diables" (devils), the "drac" (dragon) and "aliga" (eagle), both going with the "diables". Also the gegants (giants) are wonderful, especially if you go with children. And many, many other things.

But the best moment is the night of the fireworks on the beach, they do it the day 23rd at 23:00 h. It's very famous and many people comes from everywhere to see it, so, here you have a good advise: take a sandwich, a drink, a beach towel, good company and go to the beach, as minimum, 1 hour before it starts, if not, you wouldn't find a place to see the fireworks. They launch them from the church area.

I founded in Youtube some videos about the Festa Major. So here they goes:

Castells
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=lNvmTzqWf0s

Gegants
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=L81CeaQwSDE

Bèsties y diables de Sitges (voice in Catalan)
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=KoiOEOSDyoU

Ball de bastons (typical dance)
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=EcfMe5m_ZYE&mode=related&search=

Estiu is a Catalonian word that means summer, so Sitgestiu Cultural it's a game of words referring to a summer of culture in Sitges.

Are 3 months full of concerts, exhibitions, guided visits through the culture or the history of the town and also a lot of acts in the museums.

As the activities changes every year, the best thing that you can do is to get the program in the tourism office. The main one is at the entrance of the town by road, in the building called Oasis, just besides the stone bridge of the railway and in front of the bus stop. Anyway, in summer you can find Tourist Offices in other places, as the train station or below the church.

Sant Joan day is the 24 of June and is bank holiday in Catalunya. The night after is the night of the fire, the shorter night of the year, the summer solstice, the magic night.

Some years ago it was very easy to find big bonfires in everywhere, but now this is very controlled due security reasons.

Everybody is on the streets, children included, and they spend all the night eating "coca de Sant Joan", playing with the fireworks, drinking cava (Catalonian champagne, it's very good!) and dancing in the revetlla (verbena in Spanish), that are parties on the streets, usually with live music that a orquestra plays.

The streets of Sitges have a competition about wich one has the most beauful carpet made with flowers. The neighbours spend all the night working on them and the result it's spectacular.

The dates changes every year, but the celebration of the Corpus it's about May/June. In fact, the Corpus day it always a Thursday and, in a beginning, the flowers carpets were made this day. But since some years ago, they do it the Sunday after the Corpus day, then everybody can enjoy with this tradition.