Today marks the fifth, final, fantastic day of this noisy, fire-and-smoke-filled holiday in Valencia, Spain. It"s called Las Fallas (or ‘Las Falles’ in the Valencian spelling), which means ‘torches’ in colloquial translation. While the origins of the festival aren’t entirely clear, the current customs borrow elements of pre-Christian spring festivals, Carnival, and the feast of St. Joseph—which is Father’s Day in this region. Each day of the festival follows a schedule of marching bands in the mornings and fireworks in the afternoon, which is what’s happening in our photo. There are dancers in traditional costumes as well, but the real spectacle comes tonight, as the parade of large, often bawdy wood and papier-mâché figures called ninots are marched through the streets and then added to a huge bonfire to welcome spring.
The smoke before the bonfire
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Haaga Rhododendron Park
-
Blackbird in Essex, England
-
Happy Arbor Day!
-
Art over Amalfi
-
A duckling swimming in a water meadow, Suffolk, England
-
Feel the spray in Monterey
-
A universe underground
-
It s National Mushroom Month!
-
Illuminating Annecy
-
Back on the rise
-
Let us introduce you…
-
SantaPark, Lapland, Finland
-
Skógafoss waterfall, Iceland
-
A march toward a dream
-
Making it work—in Norway
-
The dog days of summer
-
To Sua Ocean Trench
-
Pride Month
-
Defying gravity on a swing ride
-
Why you should thank a nurse today
-
Killer whales in Spildra, Norway
-
Happy Boxing Day!
-
The puffin-rabbit connection
-
The smoke before the bonfire
-
Kirkilai lakes, Biržai Regional Park, Lithuania
-
Pride Month
-
Water colors
-
A night on the (ghost) town
-
In the valley of the doll
-
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan Province, China