FIESTAS

No account of the island's cultural life is complete without a description of her fiestas, in which Minorcans participate with great enthusiasm.
The word 'fiesta' is nowadays applied to any holiday - national or saint's day - and all are celebrated with equal gaiety when any early religious devotions have been completed. Since each town and village has its own patron saint, the summer months seem a succession of such holidays. The first intimation the innocent visitor receives on approaching his nearest small town, may be closed shops and 'no entry' signs completely blocking off its main street, which is entirely given over to the celebrations - even to equestrian contests. At night he will be disturbed by fireworks and song, and on the following day restaurants and bars will close to allow staff to recover.
Minorca's main fiestas are unique in that they re-enact some outstanding event in the island's history, or portray a period, as in an historical pageant. In spite of their gaiety, Minorcans feel that they are taking part in an act of commemoration. The best example of this is the Fiesta of St.John at Ciudadela, which takes place each year on 24 and 25 June. It has been listed by the Spanish government as being of 'international tourist interest', and merits a short description.

Fiesta of San Juan
The festival of St.John commemorates San Juan, the patron saint of Ciudadela. Essentially it is a procession or cavalcade on horseback, which halts at intervals on its route to indulge in various performances and rites. The horsemen are made up of representatives from the traditional medieval classes: nobility, clergy, peasants and craftsmen. The patron of the fiesta is known as the 'Caixer Senyor', and together with the other riders is appointed each year.
The traditional dress of the riders varies with their rank, but from its nature cannot be as old as the rites performed. In general it consists of spurred riding boots, breeches, tailed coat, two-pointed hat and sword. Craftsmen can be recognised by their black suits, and peasants by their white trousers. The patron seems to be in evening dress, except for his white riding breeches and long boots. He wears white gloves.
The procession and its rituals and trappings have a medieval air, and the festival is believed to have originated in the early fourteenth century. Both the colourful trappings of the horses and flag carried by the standard-bearer display a white Maltese cross on a red background, which was the insignia of both the Knights of St.John of Jerusalem and Knights of Malta. It is thought that some of the latter may have taken part in the Christian conquest of Minorca in 1287 by Alphonso III of Aragon, an inference that is in keeping with the equestrian feats of the fiesta which resemble medieval jousts and tournaments. Leading this splendid cavalcade of horsemen, to the music of flageolet and drum, rides a humble herald mounted on a donkey.
On the Sunday before 24 June, the festival is opened by a short ceremony in which a young man, possibly representing St.John, clad in lambskin and decked with flowers, carries a live lamb through the town, accompanied by a small group. 
The main celebrations begin on 24 June, and start with a parade round the Borne Square, after which the cavalcade goes on a 'pilgrimage' to the Hermitage of St.John, 5km outside Ciudadela. On its return it stops at Es Pla, on open space at the head of the port, where traditional games on horseback and mock jousts are carried out. The characteristic rearing of the horses on their hindlegs throughout the whole festival is supposed to imitate these jousts. A pre-arranged circuit of the old city is then carried out, and the people are out in their thousands, cheering and throwing nuts at horsemen and each other. In their excitement some vie with each other to invite horse and rider into the vestibule or patio of their house as this is considered to bring good fortune; this is not as foolhardy as it sounds, as they have taken the precaution of barricading their inner rooms.
The final part of the procession is through the narrow shopping street of Jose Maria Quadrado, opening out into the spacious Borne Square. This is the climax, and the signal for unrestrained gaiety. The crowds mix with the rearing horses, and jollity continues far into the night, ending with a firework display.
 

Fiesta of Our Lady of Grace
Each of the other towns and villages celebrates its saint's day with equestrian displays, such as the fiesta of San Lorenzo at Alayor, and of St Bartholomew at Ferrerias, both in August.
Only Mahon's fiesta in the first week of September in honour of 'the Virgin, Our Lady of Grace', is in sharp contrast. Looking forward and not back, it has become a Civic or Festival Week in the modern sense, and a whole week of joyous celebrations precedes its single day of religious ceremonies. For the celebrations of the fiesta in one year, the mayor's committee drew up a programme of events from which no possible recreation or spectacle was omitted, and the organisation and showmanship were superb.
Events started with a civic reception to representatives from the sister-city of Barcelona, and the crowning of the Barcelona mayor's daughter as 'Floral Queen of the Fiesta'. Prizes were given for floral displays, and the prize poem of welcome was read by the Catalan Poet Laureate. 
The second day (Sunday) offered shooting and cycling contests, a football match between Ibiza and Mahon, with 'majorettes' in red-and-white uniforms to parade and entertain the crowds. .For the children there was a mammoth party on the Esplanade, financed by a local firm.
During the week, interspersed with the Song Festival and opera, were kart-racing, free aeroplane flights, excursions to the King's Island, and sailing regattas in Port Mahon. An aircraft of the Iberia airline was christened City of Mahon by the mayoress, and Friday brought a Parade of Giants and Battle of Flowers, with brass bands. On Saturday there were mass parachute-drops by the Spanish air force.
On the closing day of the Festival a solemn procession to the church of Santa Maria took place, in which an image of the Virgin Mary was borne aloft. All the civic and public bodies were represented, and local bands were joined by those from the American and Italian navies.

Christmas in Minorca
Minorcans have an exuberance and flair for showmanship in their fiestas, and this is particularly noticeable in those which their children share, as at Christmas. As in other countries, shops are decorated and full of exotic toys, the streets illuminated and made bright with Christmas trees and cribs of the Nativity. Bands play in the squares. The giving of presents, however, does not take place until Twelfth Night (6 January), and is associated with Los Reyes Magos (the Three Kings or Wise Men), who brought gifts to the Infant Jesus. This is made the occasion for a jollification for the children of Mahon, in which press, army and navy all take a part.
On the previous day the local newspaper publishes the following mock telegram from the Three Kings:

OFICE OF ORIGIN:    THE EAST
DESTINATION:    MAHON.
ADDRESSEE:   CHILDREN OF THE CITY  STOP  SUPERCARGO OF TOYS ARIVING AT COMMERCIAL DOCK TODAY AT 1830  STOP
SENDERS' NAME:   GASPAR, MELCHIOR & BALTAZAR   STOP

The children assembled on the quay, having been. told that the ship arriving from the East is  too large to enter the port, welcome the Three Kings (suitably attired), who are brought ashore by a naval launch, and received by the deputy governor of the island, by the military governor and by the mayor. After welcoming speeches the Three Kings go in procession through the city in decorated 'state' coaches, preceded by pages bearing symbolic gifts for the child Jesus.

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