Families traditionally have a large meal on the 6th, and the traditional dessert is a cake called Roscón in Spanish or Tortell de reis in Catalan. 

It is a ring-shaped pastry, most commonly bought (not baked at home), usually stuffed with marzipan or whipped cream, and topped with glazed fruit.

The cake contains a small figurine of one of the three kings and a dry bean. The one who gets the figurine is crowned, but whoever gets the bean has to pay the value of the cake to the person who originally bought it! 

The festivities end on Ash Wednesday with elaborate funerals marking the death of King Carnival, who is burned on a pyre. From this day until the Easter Holiday, we "take one leg" per week of La Vella Quaresma, the graphic representation of Lent. She is an elderly lady that carries cod and chard. 

The town of Sitges, just south of Barcelona, has a reputation as one of the largest Carnaval celebrations in Spain. If you have the chance, go and celebrate Carnaval there! 

june 24th: NOCHE DE SAN JUAN OR nit de sant joan

Based on the summer solstice, the night before Sant Joan (Saint John) is the shortest night of the year and in Catalonia is celebrated as La Nit de Sant Joan.  

Barcelona and areas along the Costa Brava and the Balearic Islands celebrate with all-night festivities on the beaches. People buy fireworks and firecrackers and make bonfires in the sand. 

Don't forget to try the typical food for the festival, the Coca de Sant Joan! 

On November 1st, 1700, the last Spanish king of the Hapsburg dynasty died without heirs, and a War of Succession began. The war waged for fourteen years until, on September 11th, 1714, Barcelona lost an important battle in the war which resulted in the victory of Philip V, the candidate Catalonia had not supported. He subsequently conquered this region, and a time of political and cultural repression began. 

The date is now celebrated as the Catalan national festivity, and a time of local pride. Why do Catalans celebrate a defeat? Probably because they want to remember what they once had and then lost. Unlike other celebrations in Catalonia, this one is a festival with an important political message and is often partnered with protests for independence from Spain.

Legend has it that on the night of September 24th, 1218, the Virgin of Mercè (Our Lady of Mercy) appeared simultaneously to King Jaume I, Saint Pere Nolasc, and Saint Ramon de Penyafort. She told all three to set up an order of monks dedicated to saving the 26 Christians held prisoner by the Muslims (this was during a period of religious wars). Centuries later, in 1687, Barcelona suffered a plague of locusts, and the people put themselves in the hands of La Mercè. When the plague was over, the city council named her the patron of Barcelona. The Pope did not ratify this decision until two centuries later, in 1868. 

With the arrival of democracy, La Mercè became the most popular city festival. Today, events for the Mercè festival take place all over the city, and include street art, theater, concerts, traditional dance, human towers (castellers), fireworks, and much more. 

There is always a huge firework show to end the festival, hosted between Plaza España and the National Art Museum of Catalonia.

CAGA tió

Caga Tió is a Catalan and Aragonese mythological character. The tradition starts the 8th of December, when families begin to "feed" their tree trunk every night and cover it with a blanket to protect it from the cold. The trunk is fed until Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, children hit the trunk while singing traditional Caga Tió songs. If the children have behaved well during the year, the trunk will cagar (shit) gifts for them. If they have been naughty, the trunk will shit coal for them.