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EveryParampara

Traditions of Valencia

The city of Las Fallas, when huge satirical sculptures are built and burned in March, and of the original paella.

Valencia is a port city on the Mediterranean, with its own language, Valencian, and a distinct set of customs. Its biggest festival, Las Fallas, is a week of fire, fireworks and satirical monuments. The rice fields of the nearby Albufera lagoon gave rise to paella.

Valencia: Vue sur la ville depuis la Tour du Miguelete
Photo: Nicolas Vollmer, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Las Fallas

Neighbourhood committees spend the year building ninots, large painted figures, which are displayed in the streets in March. On the night of 19 March, the Nit de la Cremà, they are burnt in huge bonfires, with one saved by public vote. Each afternoon at 2, the mascletà, a thunderous daytime fireworks show, shakes the plaza.

At the table

Authentic paella valenciana is cooked on a wood fire with rabbit, chicken, green beans and rice, with saffron. Horchata, a cold drink of tiger nuts, is served with fartons, sweet rolls. Buñuelos, fritters, are eaten during Fallas. Oranges come from nearby groves.

Signature traditions of Valencia

FallasThe fire festival.

Also part of it, and being written: Paella (The rice dish.), Horchata (The tiger nut drink.), Tribunal de las Aguas (The water court.).

A trail idea for Valencia

  1. Mercado Central Buy oranges and ham.
  2. Albufera Eat paella by the lagoon.
  3. City of Arts and Sciences See modern design.
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast

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Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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