Christmas and New Year
The holidays take full advantage of the twelve days of Christmas. On Christmas Eve, religious services throughout Majorca present the Song of the Sibyl, "Cant de la Sibil·la". In 2010, Unesco declared that the Majorcan song was representative of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The service and the Sibil·la in the Cathedral of Palma is at 11pm on Christmas Eve. There are many churches to see it, the most spectacular is the Cathedral of Palma, but there are also others, for example, Santa Eulàlia or Lluc are also very traditional.
Drinking hot chocolate with ensaimadas is one of the Christmas customs of Majorca. A tradition that, despite being invaded by other foreign customs, is has not lost in vitality. Drinking chocolate with ensaimadas is a custom dating back to the late 1940s. A tradition expert, explains: "My grandmother, who was born at the end of the 19th century, said that when she was young, the custom was to drink something hot at the exit of the Mass at the Gallo, but of course, then not everyone could afford chocolate."
New Year's Eve is most definitely a time for partying. From 11pm there are gatherings in squares for the midnight bells and the eating of twelve grapes. According to tradition, it is believed that whoever eats their 12 grapes as the bells chime (one for each of the twelve chimes) will have a lucky and prosperous year. Then the parties begin well into the New Year.
The grandest parade for the Three Kings on the fifth of January is in Palma. Melchor, Gaspar y Baltasar arrive by boat before going on a spectacular procession in the streets that takes a couple of hours. Parades are held everywhere, with the Kings - as in Palma - making their entrance by boats in some coastal areas.
The Christmas lights in Palma are switched on at the end of November. The city has a Christmas market in different squares and streets that starts around the same time as the lights go on and is open every day until Three Kings. Everywhere has a Christmas market, and special mention should be made of the German Weihnachtsmarkt in Santa Ponça from late November to mid-December. There are also Christmas markets at Portals and the Pueblo Español in Palma. Also during the month of December different villages across the island hold their Christmas annual markets and fairs such as Escorca, Montuiri, Cala Millor, Ses Salines, Capdepera, Algaida, Son Servera, Porreres, Santanyi just to name a few.
Festival of the Standard / Majorca Day. On New Year's Eve there is a celebration in Palma to mark the day in 1229 when King James I of Aragon entered the city, brought an end to Muslim occupation of Majorca and signalled the arrival of Catalan Christian culture
JANUARY
Sant Julià (Julian) in Campos (8 / 9 January). These fiestas feature dances by the local cossier folk dancers.
Sant Honorat (Honoratus) in Algaida. The main day for these fiestas is the fifteenth, so they coincide with Sant Antoni fiestas and, in keeping with Sant Antoni, include a demons' fire-run.
Sant Antoni (Anthony the Great). Events for these fiestas typically start a few days before the big party night on the sixteenth and the day of Sant Antoni on the seventeenth. Everywhere in Majorca celebrates the fiestas
Sant Sebastià (Sebastian). Palma's patron, the feast day is the 20 th A particular highlight is the Revetlla de Sant Sebastià (19 January) a full-on festive night with concerts in every square of the capital, and bonfires where residents and visitors gather to barbecue local food over the flames. There are some celebrations away from Palma, such as the procession in Pollença, where cavallet horse dancers perform by a bonfire in the main square - Plaça Major.
Sport
The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca is a series of four one-day trophies that are competed for by many leading professional cycling teams which have winter training camps in Majorca. The Vuelta takes place at the end of the month or into the start of February.
February
Son Servera - first Sunday, the Almond Blossom Fair.
Sencelles, 4 / 5 February. The village of Sencelles celebrates the fiestas of Santa Àgueda, Saint Agatha of Sicily, with a demons' fire-run.
Sòller, around 11 February. There is a torchlight procession in Soller for Our Lady of Lourdes, which honours the visions of the Virgin Mary by 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes in 1858.
Carnival, over days up to and including 23 February in 2020. There are Carnival parades everywhere, the big one being in Palma, which should be on the 23rd. To mark the start of Lent, many places have a "burial of the sardines" on Shrove Tuesday. A tongue-in-cheek event, giant paper sardines, sometimes carried by pallbearers, are typically burned on bonfires, which are used for barbecuing real sardines.
March
Balearics Day is the first of March. It recognises the day in 1983 when the Balearics statute of regional autonomy came into force. Events in Palma and elsewhere.
The Fira del Fang ceramics fair in Marratxi is typically during the second week of March. Palmanyola, part of Bunyola, has the Fira Bona (good fair) on the second weekend; horse show and fire-running demons.
St. Patrick's Day. Majorca turns Irish each year on the seventeenth, especially in Santa Ponça, where there is live music, a market, street performance and plenty of Guinness.
Orange Fair. The Soller Fira de Taronja (orange) pays tribute to the varieties of oranges grown in Soller and Fornalutx and for which the "Hidden Valley" is internationally famous. The main fair should be the final weekend of the month; its scheduling has been subject to some alteration recently.
Son Ferriol is a district of Palma that maintains links with agriculture. The Son Ferriol fair at the end of the month has agriculture as its theme and is one of the most popular on the island.
Sport
Puerto Rals Classic Rally. The classic car rally will take place from March 12 to 14, 2020. The stages of the rally take cars to the Tramuntana mountains and winding and narrow roads. The 2020 event will be the sixteenth in the series. The former "Top Gear" team of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May once participated in the rally.
For more information visit www.mallorca.es