Festivals in Berja

The weekend before Ash Wednesday.
Carnival Saturday is a costume contest, which finishes on Ash Wednesday with the Burial of the Sardine ceremony.

It is a very popular party in Berja.
 

From the 2nd to the 4th Sunday of Lent. This celebration has its origin in the vow made by the inhabitants of Berja in 1651, in gratitude for freeing them from a drought.
In this solemn procession on the third Sunday of Lent, the Virgin of Gador is accompanied by the image of Saint Ctesiphon (the patron saint of Berja).
 

The celebration of Holy Week in Berja has important processional parades.

The first brotherhoods were founded in Berja at the end of the 16th century.

Today, the Holy Week of Berja is one of the most important in the Diocese of Almeria, with procession parades every day, except Holy Monday. There are processions of up to three brotherhoods on the same day (Holy Thursday).

During these dates, in the catering establishments of Berja, the gastronomic Route of Holy Week is celebrated, based on typical dishes and sweets created for these occasions.
 

These celebrations take place on the night of March 31 and are held in honor of the patron saint of Berja: Saint Ctesiphon. The festivities are celebrated in the neighborhood of Castala during the first weekend of April; that is why it is often said that the traditional "burning of the beard of the saint" is done on that night.

This tradition involves residents of the main neighborhoods of the municipality, where they join forces to gather wood, sticks, etc., which they then use to make bonfires that will be lit from 9 o'clock at night. Once lit, the inhabitants of Berja gather around the bonfires and accompany the evening with the tasting of bacon, beans and wine, as well as enjoying live music and dancing. It is traditional to visit several of these events at various locations.
 

On the weekend closest to April 25, Berja venerates Saint Mark and Saint Anton as protectors of animals.

In the past, the celebration activities involved races of large animals in the Race of Granada. Today there is the tradition of walking with animals three times round the "Station of the Holy" and, above all, it is very interesting to see a parade of hundreds of heads of livestock (goats and sheep), walking round the station during the early hours of Saturday.
 

The first weekend of May.

This ancient tradition is still alive today thanks to the various brotherhoods and fraternities of the city that organize presentation of their May crosses every year to raise funds for their services.

The crosses are adorned with flowers, pots, shawls or still life displays made from products from Almerian gardens, as well as tools that are used for field work.
 

The first weekend of June.

The International Cycle Touring March, "La Indomable", is a cycling tour that was devised with the idea of showing cyclists and the general public the magnificent surroundings, villages, landscapes and roads of Las Alpujarras.
 

The Fair of Berja is an entertainment event for the whole province of Almeria. On the first weekend of August, concerts take place with the best artists of the moment and the bullring hosts the first celebrity guests of the season. As well as this, you can see the traditional parade of floats, the midday fair and the pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Gador.
 

Festivities in honor of the Virgin of Gador: from the last Sunday of August to the second of September. The festivities in honor of the Virgin of Gador have been documented since 1604. Since 1955, these festivities are celebrated in the city by moving the Virgin from her Shrine in a solemn procession through the town. These events are held on the last Sunday in August, or the first of September if the 8th (festivity of the Virgin of Gador) falls on a Sunday.
 

Expo Berja-Alpujarra and the Tapa Route.

They are celebrated in parallel during the All Saints Bridge, from the end of October to the beginning of November.

Expo Berja-Alpujarra is a commercial and hospitality exhibition. During the event, the municipality receives a large number of visitors.
 

The first weekend of December in San Roque.
For some years, the neighborhood of San Roque has reinstated this traditional day that takes place in recognition of man's gastronomic coexistence with the pig.
 

In Berja, Christmas is celebrated with the monumental Bethlehem display that is mounted by the Friends of Christmas Association in the Exhibition Hall of Saint Peter Square. There is also the spectacular ride of the Three Wise Men.