Murcia Festivities

The calendar of festivities in Murcia is full of a wealth of different events. The easter or holy week has been declared by law of national touristic interest, with the procession of los coloraos late on the evening of holy Wednesday and the Good Friday procession with all the magnificent sculptures by Salzillo.

The spring festival begins on easter Sunday. The colour and atmosphere of the huerta flood the city, at the Bando de la huerta everyone is supposed to dress up in the regional costume.

The climax to these fiestas is the Burial of the sardine, celebrating the end of lent a great parade where fireworks and thousands of free toys surround the burning of the sardine, a purification ritual.

Lastly at Christmas traditional religious craftsmanship achieves its full splendour with the exhibition of the nativity scene in la Plaza de la Cruz, beside the Cathedral also the mechanical nativity scene in casillas or that belonging to la Pava farmers guild.

Yet another curious event is the Cuadrillas and the Auroros sing popular murcian carols on the last Saturday before Christmas when they leave the plaza de la cruz to attend the misa del gallo at the church of San Nicolas.

On January the 6th visit the district of Churra to admire the performance of the Auto de los Reyes, a Eucharistic epiphany play of the three wise men.