Saint Anthony night in Mallorca

Night of St. Anthony in Mallorca

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I decided that this text will be off-top, because in addition to climbing the peaks, various interesting things are happening around. And not to reflect these impressions means to show black ingratitude to the one who makes it possible for us to see and feel all this wonderful world.

 
Evening serenity of Pollença Bay

As you get older, you get better and better at distinguishing the fake from the real. Unfortunately, with this approach the amount of real is becoming less and less, and sometimes it seems that it disappears totally. Therefore, every time you encounter something with the proportion of false less than the usual level, that occasion brings very vivid and memorable emotions, which feed on our inner optimism. And the world around improves significantly.

View of the eastern tip of the island of Mallorca and the town of Alcudia

I also noticed that someone else's falsehood is always more obvious than our own. Dealing with your own false side is a task from a completely different difficulty level. Probably, this is neither good nor bad - after all, each of us lives in a self invented world, which is painted and decorated in accordance with our personal preferences. One of these decorations was this story for me, which I wont to tell to you below.

Sunrise at the fantastically beautiful Formentor lighthouse in Mallorca

Pollença in winter is a sleepy, absolutely calm, almost empty small town in the east of the island of Mallorca. Ancient narrow streets, stone houses with worn-out steps of porches and heavy closed shutters - it is not crowded here in summer and completely empty in winter. Despite its modest size, the age of this town has exceeded two millennia.

The ruins of a Roman amphitheater near the town of Alcudia in Mallorca

In ancient times, the Romans lived here, and ships from Carthage, Egypt and distant Arab countries entered Pollença Bay. Now the local population is passing their time at home, occasionally going out to the nearest supermarket, so that later they won’t go out again for weeks. Only aged people stay for the winter in Pollença - at this season, the youngsters hang out in Palma - the capital of the island, and the periphery plunges into a deep winter calmness.

Winter in Mallorca - cool, quiet and very calm

There are almost no tourists in Mallorca in winter, most of the stores are open only until siesta - this is from 11 am to 2 pm, many do not work at all - there are no customers. The weather is convenient to the sleepy existence. The Balearic winter is similar to the southern continental Europe autumn - bare trees with the remnants of withered foliage, sunny cool days and damp chilly nights.

Winter tranquility of Alcudia bay

Getting used to this state of things, I was quite surprised when at the end of January an incomprehensible activity began in the Pollença town. It was my first winter in Mallorca - the winter numbness of the island did not interfere with training on the rocks and nice walks along the fantastic cliffs of the Sierra Tramontana.

Several times during the winter, a real hurricane comes to the Balearic Islands

I certainly could not imagine that the old men and women, the invisible inhabitants of this sleepy kingdom, would suddenly be able to wake up and became so active just in a moment! However, let's continue with a story.

When I arrived to Pollença for lunch at a tiny family restaurant in the outskirts, I was surprised to find that solid piles of firewood appeared on the streets. After a short walk after lunch, I noticed these piles almost everywhere. Some incomprehensible preparations were going on in the main square as well. There locals laid down a huge woodpile - round, five meters in diameter and three in height, and on top of it they began to install a statue of papier-mâché, suspiciously similar to a huge devil. The preparations for the holiday were also noticeable in the shop windows - various carnival attributes appeared there - devils' masks, tridents, firecrackers, confetti.

Pollença is preparing for the celebration of St. Anthony's Night

It was not so easy to find information on the Internet about the upcoming event - there was almost nothing in English, little in Spanish, something could be found in Catalan, but I understand this language very poorly.

Here's what I managed to find out. The Feast of Saint Anthony is a very local event celebrated in only four ancient towns of Mallorca - in Pollença, Arta, Muro and Manacor, at the very end of the Mediterranean winter. The origin of the holiday is rooted in antiquity, where, apparently, it has a relationship Russian Maslenitsa. That is a frankly pagan holiday adapted in a Catholic way, but by all indications it is older than Christian rites. The holiday in Mallorca is held under the patronage of the Catholic saint - St. Anthony.

Attributes of the night of St. Anthony - fire, devils and a pig

According to the survived legend, Saint Anthony lived in Egypt in the 3rd-4th century A.D. and became famous for his uncompromising struggle with all sorts of demons. In our days he would be recorded as Don Quixote. But according to the customs of those times, the war with invisible devils was held with high esteem. And the memory of the glorious deeds of this ascetic hero has come to this day in numerous legends and traditions.

Preparations for St. Anthony's Night at Pollença

In particular, in the feast of St. Anthony, an episode of his battle with the inhabitants of hell is played out. According to one of the legends, during a thunderstorm, Saint Anthony tried to find refuge in a cave, where he was attacked by a large number of small, but very vicious demons. These demons, naturally were not very happy of the intruder and beat him bitterly. Deciding that Saint Anthony died in the battle, his friends and servants pulled the body of the sufferer out of the cave (according to the legend, having the servants correspond well with an ascetic Christian lifestyle).

In the streets of the town of Pollença, firewood is prepared for fires on St. Anthony's night

But it turned out that he was alive, full of energy and more cheerful than before. Having recovered a little, Saint Anthony again rushed into the cave, - this time he won and chased the former owners from there. The legend tells of a flash of bright light that frightened and drove away the demons. I can suppose that the saint severely smashed his head against the cave low roof - that happens often in the caves. Once I also got “baptized” in that way, looking for adventures in the old quarries. The bruise on my forehead was about the size and color of a good plum.

In the main square of Pollença a figure of the main devil made of papier-mâché was installed. That devil will be burned

As a result of the described events, fire and trident confiscated from a demon, became attributes of the feast of St. Anthony. The feast of Saint Anthony is celebrated on the night of 16th to 17th January.

With each passing day, the preparations for the feast of Saint Anthony became more and more widespread. Decorations appeared on the streets, ribbons marked a restriction on entry into the town center during the two days of the holiday.

Burning of everything that has bothered the inhabitants of Mallorca for a year is being prepared

Winter on the island is not full of events, so it was completely unacceptable to miss such an event. I arrived to Pollença at about 6 pm on the 16th of January. The town has changed a lot. The liveliness on the streets was very different from the usual measured calm. From somewhere appeared a huge number of excited locals of all ages, old and young were in a state of deep joyful euphoria. The first pops of firecrackers were heard - someone was very impatient to start the holiday.

Stacks of firewood are prepared throughout the town - on the night of St. Anthony, large bonfires will be burned here

The sculpture on the Pollença main square grew to its original size and looked intimidating. A huge horned devil with an impressive trident towered above the tiled roofs of neighboring houses. Both in the center and on the outskirts, restaurants and cafes came to life - in addition to the already mentioned solid supplies of firewood, tables, chairs and numerous braziers appeared on the streets.

Together with the fire, the wishes of the inhabitants of Pollença will fly into the sky

The most important action developed on the main square, opposite to the Town Hall, where a gigantic devil towered over a huge auto-da-fé, slyly grinning in an unkind smile. This infernal smile was clearly mocking the intention of the public to burn it - everyone knows that it is easier to scare a hedgehog with a bare butt than the devil - with fire!

The main devil is getting prepared for the holiday

The holiday began with the onset of darkness - a drum roll swept through the town, one after another, firewood piles at the crossroads flared up. A hellish train started its way through the town - a huge cart harnessed to a tiny farm tractor, full of costumed devils with pipes and drums. Wheeling around Pollença, this design made an incredible noise.

After dark, there was an active movement throughout the town of Pollença

Lighting infernal red flares, the devils ensured a real hell for everyone who, for whatever reason, decided to sleep that night and not participate in the holiday. However, I think there were no such people in Pollença - the noise and flashes would wake the dead.

All the restaurants and cafes, which a week ago looked completely abandoned and useless, suddenly woke up from their winter hibernation. Tables were set across the streets, adorned with all sorts of snacks.

Tables with a wide variety of food appear on the streets - everything is free this night

Nearby, braziers hissed with hot coals. The restaurants seemed to compete with each other - who had fresher meat, more aromatic cheese and tastier wine. As well as a variety of vegetables and fruits, meat and fish dishes, steaks, sausages, which could be immediately roasted on a hot brazier. Huge barrels of wine flaunted next to many restaurants, from which everyone could get a product of local winemaking in any quantity.

Wine also was free in any quantity

The most interesting thing was that all the meals put on the street were offered to the people completely free of charge - restaurant signs with prices were hung with towels. During that night only kiosks with firecrackers, masks and confetti made their business.

Increasingly imbued with the atmosphere of general fun, I wandered around the center of Pollença, pushing through the crowds of people. The crowd was constantly dodged by very cheerful costumed devils who snooped around, blew horns and tugged at the clothes of passersby.

On a trailer behind a small farm tractor, an orchestra of devils drives around the town

Numerous firecrackers exploded under the feet, thrown by the most active kids. For this category of citizens the holiday was just perfect - it was possible not to go to bed on time and create any lawlessness accessible to their age! Parents did not restrict the freedom of young hooligans in any way - a firecrackers flash could be expected at any moment and in the most unexpected place.

Throughout the night of St. Anthony, a variety of crazy things and funny follies were going on in the town

By 11 pm, most of the people had gathered in the main square, sitting on benches and stone pedestals around the central auto-da-fé. A carnival train with devils was also brought here. Scattered among the people, they continued to hooligan, gradually forming a wide round dance around the figure of the main devil. The round dance closed, and torches appeared to the drum roll. A huge woodpile was set on fire from several sides at once, the fire ran merrily along the dry logs, and after a few minutes a huge figure with a trident was completely engulfed in a column of flame.

The main devil burns solemnly on the main square of Pollença

Along with the devil, a dozen posters of clearly political content which the activists hung at the foot of the auto-da-fé went into the fiery hell. Most of the slogans related to local relations with the central government and were incomprehensible to me, but kind people did not skimp on explanations. The truth all that was in Catalan, so I was too lazy to delve deeply into the essence of the issue.

Bonfires blaze all over Pollença on Saint Anthony's night

Participants of the holiday were 99% the local residents. Perhaps that is why it was so difficult to find information about this festival - that is too local. The feast of St. Anthony does not attract the attention of tourists at all - it is held at the very peak of the dead season in Mallorca, when there are no foreign tourists on the island at all. With all the good nature and responsiveness of the people around me, some discomfort happened due to the fact that, (however it sounds ridiculous), almost no one around spoke Spanish.

Hot bonfires are burning in all corners of the town of Pollença. Festival participants enjoy fun and free food

In Mallorca, the influence of Catalonia is strongly felt - after all, Barcelona is only 200 km away by sea. As a result of the complex relationship between Spaniards and Catalans, which Mallorcans consider themselves to be, knowledge of Spanish is less welcome here than even slight ability of speaking English.

You can refresh yourself during the celebration of the night of St. Anthony at any corner of Pollença - everywhere there are braziers and tables with all kinds of fresh and tasty food

It would not be useless, before going to hang out, to spend a few hours getting acquainted with the basic phrases in Catalan - it worked like a password, and after a few words in Catalan, you could safely move to Spanish without risking getting a slap in the face.

More people can be seen in Pollença on St. Anthony's Night than in any other month of the Mallorcan winter

The most useful idea was to convey immediately to the interlocutor that neither one nor the other languages were native to me.

It soon became clear that the burning of the main devil was not the end of the holiday, but rather it was the culmination of its beginning. After only the glowing coals were left of the horned demon, the people rushed to the festive tables. The air was filled with delicious sizzling and barbecue smells.

On the night of St. Anthony, all restaurants in Pollença worked without a menu - any treats were offered free of charge

Getting refreshed, the most active part of the people went to continue the scenario of the holiday, which was becoming more and more similar to the already mentioned Russian Maslenitsa. Under the sounds of the drums and pipes, a wooden pole decorated with ribbons was carried through the streets. Traditionally it is installed on the top of a mountain, and local young guys climb up the pole rubbed with soap for prizes that hung from above.

At the end of the feast of the night of St. Anthony - traditional youthful fun - climbing on a soapy pole for valuable prizes

Bonfires around the town burned all night, since a lot of firewood was brought. The festivities continued until the very predawn twilight, everyone had fun from the heart, loudly, brightly and completely sincerely, without animators and presenters, without microphones and loudspeakers.

Two things especially pleased me: for the whole night of the holiday, I did not see a single drunk person, despite the completely free and good wine everywhere in the town.

The fires burned throughout the town, but there was not a single fire alarm. Also, there was not a single policeman or lifeguard spoiling the fun

The second - which especially deep sunk into my soul - all this fun mess and games with fire took place without any control from the police - there just were no cops, not a one! As well as firefighters, rescuers and other guys in uniform, with guns, batons and dull expressions on the faces. At the same time, no one fell into the fire, did not fight, nothing of any value was broken or burned, except for posters and (in some places) stuffed doll of the politicians - this also did not bother anyone and everyone was happy.

In addition to devils, images of objectionable politicians were burned in the bonfires

Later, collecting my impressions, I realized that the most valuable thing for me was how natural and relaxed so fairly huge event can be if “the gifted organizers” do not interfere in its organizing. If the event is not subject to formatting, censorship and restriction by various “security measures”.

All night long fun and festivities continued in the town of Pollença

Without any visible organization, without coercion and motivation, without sponsors, politic propaganda and intrusive advertising - all these people just came together to create a common, bright and very sincere holiday atmosphere. Surprisingly, everything turned out to be so simple - no matter how trite it sounds - the joy and pleasure of life is a natural state of the human being, and definitely it is not our scheduled duties. No matter how hard they try to convince us the otherwise.

Mallorca winter fairy tale

The author of the text and photos - Alex Trubachev
Your climbing and trekking guide in Mallorca

MCS EDIT 2023