A patronal feast or patronal

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

( es, fiesta patronal; pt, festa patronal; ca, festa patronal; it, festa patronale; french: fête patronale) is a yearly celebration dedicated, in countries influenced by

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

, to the "heavenly advocate" or "

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

" of the location holding the festival, who is a saint or

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

. The day of this celebration is called patronal feast day, patronal day or patron day of said location. Patronal festivals may reflect national holidays (e.g. the feast of Saint George, patron saint of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, and various regions of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

), but they usually reflect the celebration of a single city or town. In larger cities, there may even be several festivals, usually about the patron saint of the local

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Celebration

Depending to the budget, patronal festivals may run from one day to five days. The festivities usually include religious processions honoring its

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

heritage. However, elements of local culture have been incorporated as well. Usually, town members adorn the town streets with colorful decorations and other things. Most patronal festivals feature traditional fairs known as

verbena ''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas ...

s ( it, sagra, plural: ''sagre''), possibly including elements typical of the

travelling carnival A traveling carnival (US English), usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair (UK English), is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, ...

s. They feature parades, artisans, street vendors, regional food stands,

amusement ride Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

, and live entertainment, among other things. There are usually

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

s—

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

and

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cer ...

—and music and dancing, either organized or spontaneously; in

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

, for example, folk dances known as

tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the ...

s are very common.

In Europe

Austria and Germany

France

Italy

;Examples *

Feast of Our Lady of the Hens , nickname = it, Festa della Madonna delle Galline, lit=Feast of Our Lady of the Hens , observedby = Christians , litcolor = , longtype = Cultural, Historical, Christian , significance = Patronal festival of Our Lady of the He ...

on the Second Sunday of Easter in

Pagani, Campania Pagani (, ''('e) Pavane'' in ) is a town and ''comune'' in Campania, Italy, administratively part of the Province of Salerno, in the region known as the Agro Nocerino Sarnese. Pagani has a population of 35,834, as of 2016. History In the perio ...

* Feast of Saints Francis and Catherine * Feast of San Gennaro

Spain

;Examples *

Fiestas del Pilar The Fiestas del Pilar are an annual festival celebrated in the city of Zaragoza, Aragon, in honour of the patron saint of the city, the '' Virgen del Pilar'' (Our Lady of the Pillar). The week long festival takes place every year, usually, beg ...

around 31 October in

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tribut ...

La Mercè La Mercè () is the annual festival ( ca, festa major) of the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It has been an official city holiday since 1871, when the local government first organized a program of special activities to observe the Roman ...

around 24 September in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

Fallas The Falles ( ca-valencia, Falles; es, Fallas) is a traditional celebration held annually in commemoration of Saint Joseph in the city of Valencia, Spain. The five main days celebrated are from 15 to 19 March, while the Mascletà, a pyrotechnic ...

around 19 March in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

Bonfires of Saint John The Bonfires of Saint John ( ca, Fogueres de Sant Joan, es, link=no, Hogueras de San Juan, gl, Fogueiras de San Xoán, ast, Fogueres de San Xuán, pt, Fogueiras de São João) are a traditional and popular festival celebrated around the world ...

around 24 June in

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...

* Festival of San Fermín around 7 July in

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

* San Isidro Labrador around 16 May in rural areas mostly in

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, ...

and

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...

Wales

In Latin America

Puerto Rico

Most

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

n countries dedicate the first day to the saint or virgin being celebrated, the others to entertainment, but in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

the musical and entertainment festivities begin right away.

Further examples

Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi , nickname = , observedby = Italy, and in general Christians of Italian ancestry , litcolor = , longtype = Religious, Historical, Cultural , significance = To honour Francis of Assisi and Catherine of Siena, patron saints of ...

on 4 October, in Yucuaquín (

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

), in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area ...

(US) and in Italy * Festa de São João do Porto around 23 June in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

(Portugal)

Serbia

Serbian culture Serbian culture is a term that encompasses the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Serbs and Serbia. History The Byzantine Empire had a great influence on Serbian culture as it i ...

, instead of local patron saints, people celebrate family's patron saints. These celebrations are known as '

slava Slava may refer to: Ships * Slava-class cruiser, ''Slava'' class cruiser, a modern Russian warship ** Soviet cruiser Slava (1979), now Russian cruiser ''Moskva'', a ''Slava'' class guided missile cruiser sunk during the 2022 Russian invasion of U ...

' in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Authority control French culture Irish culture Italian culture Spanish culture Festivals in France Festivals in Ireland Festivals in Italy Festivals in Spain Latin American festivals