Carnaval:  The unusual Bear Festival in Vallespir.

Every year, the bear is hunted through the village streets at Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans, Arles-sur-Tech and Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste.
With blackened faces, the villagers, armed with wooden guns, hunt the bear, symbolised by a man dressed in fur.  When the beast is captured, they sing and dance …

Holy Week:  Spectacular Processions of the Sanch.

The penitants, dressed in « caparutxe », red or black robes with hoods covering the face, and women, all dressed in black, march to the sound of bells and religious songs.  They carry on their shoulders « misteris », representations of scenes from the passion of Christ.
The Procession of the Sanch takes place in Perpignan on Good Friday afternoon, and in the evening by firelight, at Collioure and Arles-sur-Tech.
Bouleternere celebrates the Procession in the evening of Thursday before Good Friday.

Easter Festivals.

The Goigs dels Eus (the voice of the eggs):  In some villages, groups of singers go from house to house requesting eggs and sausages to prepare the Easter omelette.
The Easter omelette can be found on every Catalan table on Easter Monday.  It is comprised of cold meat (black pudding) and tender vegetables like wild asparagus artichokes.

23rd April:  Saint Jordi Festival (Saint George).
This is a literary festival, The Book Festival and The Rose Festival:  This festival dates back to a legend from the 11th century:  Each man gives a rose to his lady and each woman gives a book to her sweetheart.  Booksellers and florists are everywhere.  In the streets and on the village squares, editors, writers and readers meet.  It is also the occasion to celebrate the Catalan language.  An unmissable event for book lovers.  This day has become, for  Unesco, the world day of books.

23rd June:  The Fires of Saint Jean.

The Catalans celebrate mid-summer solstice by lighting great fires on the eve of June 23rd.  The flame of Saint Jean was born on the Canigou.  Each year, carriers take the flame down from the Canigou and take it from village to village to light their fires.  This flame, symbolising fraternity, is kept during the year in the Castillet, in Perpignan.  It will be sent up the Canigou again on 22nd June to light a fire which can be seen by the whole county!
That it be in Perpignan or in the villages, everyone gets together around the fires which are awaited impatiently.  The festival takes place throughout the whole of Catalan country:  Dances, the traditional Catalan folk danse, the 'sardane', firework displays.

On the day of St-Jean, it is also the tradition to give a bouquet of herbs of St-Jean which is supposed to bring protection:  This small bouquet is made with straw flowers, stonecrap, walnut and St Jean's wort, all of which have been freshly picked the same morning.

October:  The winepicking festival in Banyuls-sur-Mer

A bucolic festival, with tasting of Banyuls and local produce.
An unusual festival with the arrival of the grapes by the sea, aboard a Catalan boat, and the pressing of the wine carried out by children.
A convivial festival:  Musical groups, fanfares, traditional songs, dance, fireworks … not forgetting the wine pickers' lunch on the beach …  These festivals take place at Banyuls-sur-Mer in the 3rd week of October.

December:  Christmas festivals

The Pessebre, the Catalan Nativity, a live nativity, tells the story of the miraculous birth of the infant Jesus through songs and traditional stories.  These can be seen the St-Jean's cathedral in Perpignan and in the churches of certain villages.
At this time, in order to face the Catalan winter and to keep warm, we drink the « cremat », a hot traditional drink made from rum and coffee.
On Catalan tables:  Tourons (Catalan nougat), rousquilles (sweet aniseed cakes covered in icing), Catalan confectionary accompanied by Muscat de Noël (sweet sherry like wine), which is made from the very first grapes picked (a special celebratory wine, the first Muscat de Rivesaltes of the year).

La Sardane
 

Young and old, holiday-makers and the Catalans, all get together in the village squares to dance the sardane:  Hands linked and shod in Vigatanes (rope soled Catalan canvas shoes), the dancers count the steps to the sound of a traditional band, an orchestra with eleven traditional instruments.  The circular dance goes from left to right, slowly …
Sardane festivals (« aplecs ») are also organized:  The most well-known and one of the largest in Catalogne is the one at Ceret, which takes place in summer in the arenas.  During this festival, they dance the sardane, you can participate in auditions, you can follow parades of folk groups dressed in traditional costumes and you can take part in the sardane competition.  A fun day out for lovers of popular arts and traditions!