St. James Day: July 25, 2010
St. James Day is a public holiday in the Balearic Islands.
The feast of St. James, which falls on July 25th, is celebrated quite vigorously all over the Balearic Islands.
St. James Day History
The people have great love for the saint James and have adopted him as their patron saint and his feast has become a national holiday. Major celebrations are planned all over the Islands. There are great processions and all the municipalities organise their annual local celebrations to match with the feast day. All activities are done in his honour and even parents tend to name their sons as Juame after the saint.
Saint James was the son of a fisherman called Zebedee and a pious woman called Salome. He was called as a disciple of Jesus later on. After the accession of Jesus, Saint James envisioned envangelizing Jesus and spent considerable time travelling in Spain. He was later said to have been killed by Herod Agrippa I. St. James relics were then translated to Spain and many legends grew around him. This led to him, over the years through those legends becoming the Patron saint of the Spanish.
St. James Day Traditions and Activities
The Feast of St. James is celebrated widely in the municipalities across the islands. Horses come forward in some villages as protagonists during the festivities. The Feast of Saint James is one of the most important festivals in the Islands of Majorica, Minorica, Ibiza and Formentera.
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