Javea Festivals

Easter: As is customary in the community of Valencia, during Easter, people work on Holy Thursday (as in other communities is a holiday) in exchange for celebrating Easter Monday or the second day of Passover. During the days of holding, people in a family leave the countryside or the beach to eat the “monkey” (a kind of sweet bread on fire) and fly kites. In some places, as in Javea, they even have a party the next evening (Tuesday).

St. Vincent: As tradition and pattern of Valencia, it is celebrated on the Monday following Easter Monday.Tthe feast of St. Vincent Ferrer is when they celebrate the onomastics of Vincent and is very common name in Valencia. There is no fixed date and it depends on when Easter falls.

The purpose is to recreate a history that occurred many years ago, with “scenes” as the default invasion (by a landing on the beach and shooting Arcabuco), taking the Christian castle, the surrendering of his master (each year is different), and then, with a procession with all the Moro blackberries.

Later the castle suffered due to the Christian Reconquest, and after celebrating the victory with another passacaglia, they now celebrate with the Christian troops.

Our Lady of Loreto: A festival that takes place exclusively in the “port” of Javea, which ends on September 8. Like those of San Juan, a few days before the celebration, popular events are held.

Currently, the festivals that are held annually are:

Feast of San Anton, celebrated in January, with the blessing of animals. This is not a pig killing, as breeding is not so well-known.

Carnival: While started not long ago, there are people dressed to your liking, with celebration of festivals and competitions.

Days before the event is held, there are several competitions open to the public, with whole streets where neighbors work together to create a cross, usually made of flowers, and are then awarded according to their design, originality, and beauty.

San Juan: It is the largest of the festivals and is celebrated at the end of June, namely the 24th, which are “Fogueres” (not to confuse the Fallas in Valencia, although they are similar), with at least 15 days of small events that celebrate the rocks (a group of friends who gather in a room for eating, drinking, and having a good time). The last five days before the 24th is the day that parties offer flowers, riding, etc.

Moros y Cristianos: Although not a local traditional festival, it has expanded its practice for years, making it more important each year. It is held in late July in the port area, where open barracks of the Moors and Christians hold public events, with different bands of Moors and Christians.

Santa Lucia festival is celebrated on December 13, and it is in dedication to the hermitage of Saint Lucia, located on a mound.

Other major festivals that are celebrated are Santa Cecilia, patron saint of musicians, which is held in November, Nuestra Senora del Carmen, patron saint of sailors, and Our Lady of the Angels, made in Planas (Cabo San Antonio), where you will find the monastery of the same name, celebrated in early August, with local events and festivals.

Rise of the Nazarene or Jesus: Saint Barthelemy is the head of the parish church, San Sebastian is the patron saint of Javea, and Jesus Nazareno is the perpetual mayor of Javea. An image is visible almost all year in the chapel of Calvary; a small church can be seen on the town with a dome of blue, which is the road to Denia by plane (via the Montgo and Cape San Antonio).

The Third Sunday of Lent is a downstream procession in the center of town, where the saint is revered until May 3, which is when the local party occurs and when he returns to the chapel following a procession at night, with the launch of fireworks.