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Sant Sebastian Palma: 2023 the biggest barbecue in the world?

Sant Sebastian Palma
Also in 2023, the city of Palma commemorates its patron saint Sant Sebastian with a holiday on January 20. The party takes place the night before.
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To Sant Sebastian Palma becomes a huge barbecue station

I'm right there with you when you say it's healthier to use an electric grill for sausage and meat. We know that by now. In the rarest of cases, that's all grilling is about jedouch.

Whether it's with a couple of special people in the front yard or with thousands of strangers spread across an entire city. Either way, it usually ends up being a party. If you will, barbecuing is a celebration of community and the senses and therefore, at least for me, inseparable from the glowing heat, the charcoal and the hissing of the meat juice or, better yet, the extinguishing beer on the former piece of cow.

Do you have the smell in your nose? In the evening de 19 January 2023 will smell to Sant Sebastià the whole island capital Palma exactly the same.

Sant Sebastian - 1
Photo: Crónica Balear. Article: El Ayuntamiento de Palma presenta el programa de fiestas de San Sebastià 2023

Devils, dances, towers and the plague

According to legend, St. Sebastian, or at least parts of him, saved the citizens of Palma from the Black Death anno 1523. More precisely, after the end of his earthly existence around the year 288, one of his arm bones is said to have been brought to Mallorca as a sacred relic to end the epidemic by his mere presence on the island. Strong bone!

Probably always drank his milk, the good old Sant Sebastian. His alleged bone, by the way, can be admired to this day in the museum of Palma's La Seu Cathedral.  

Anyone who has already gotten to know the Spaniards, Mallorcans or Palmesans a bit probably hasn't missed how much they like to celebrate "Fiesta" here. Reasons for celebrating? There are many. And are secondary.

Much more important is the question: what all can you organize and how long can you extend the celebrations?

It's very similar with Palma's patron saint festival. To go into too much detail here would probably bore you. Therefore, just the tip: Look at the beginning of the coming year in the German weekly newspapers on the island, there is usually quite a good program overview of what all is coming up.

 

 

SAN SEBASTIÀ 2023

from 19-29 January

San Sebastian Program Palma
City festival poster

This year the celebrations of San Sebastià 2023 in Palma are special, because in the previous two years there were restrictions due to the pandemic. 

San Sebastià is synonymous with "Torrades", concerts and gatherings with family and friends. The festive atmosphere in the streets of the city invites you to celebrate this emblematic festival of the city. And this year it is in style. The calendar of events offers many possibilities for all tastes: exhibitions, junkets, theater, sports, concerts, barbecues, typical dishes and of course the famous Gegants and Correfocs.

These last two activities are very characteristic and should not be missed. The "Trobada de gegants de Palma" takes place on January 28 from 9:45 am in the Carrer del Palau Reial. Different groups of gegants from the island come together to show these boisterous giants while dancing to the sounds of traditional music. 

On the other hand, the Correfo is a murderous spectacle with a final climax. It is a group of people who dress up as demons, spit fire and create fireworks as they parade through different streets of the city. The event starts at 19:00 at the Pont de la Riera and you should not miss it!  

If you want to immerse yourself in this lively and unique festival, do not hesitate to do so. The party is spread over different places in the city during these 10 days:

 

  •  Plaza de la Cort
  •  Plaza del Olivar
  •  Plaza Major
  •  Plaza de la Reina
  •  Parc de la mar
  •  Plaza Rei Joan Carles I
Sant Sebastian - 2
Photo: www.visitpalma.com Article:Fiestas de San Sebastià

Of the many events to attend over the course of more than a week, I'm personally most taken with the night before the actual holiday. The mere fact that the municipality invites all the people who want to, to a big barbecue party, is already a great story.

The fact that complete strangers gather around charcoal, only to move on as new acquaintances to one of the free concerts in the old town after talking shop about the correct preparation of barbecue food, is a great way to celebrate "togetherness" even in the big city.

 Palma seems like a single neighborhood that rises from its big-city anonymity on this night and moves a little closer together.

The patron saint festival in honor of Saint Sebastian, or at least his magical bones, is a no brainer if you want to immerse yourself in the vibrant capital of the Balearic Islands. 

Do you want to know more about the official San Sebastian program? We will send it to you as soon as possible by mail. Just request it here:
San Sebastian Program Palma
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