Feast of the Immaculate Conception Spain

On 8 December, Spain celebrates the ‘Feast of the Immaculate Conception’. It is a public holiday and, for many this is when Christmas officially starts. The feast was originally called the Conception of Mary and arose in the Eastern Catholic Church in the seventh century It spread to the West in the eighth century, and in the 11th century received its present name, the Immaculate Conception. In the 18th century it became a feast of the Roman Catholic Church.

The city of Seville is one of the best places to enjoy thus public holiday Music and dancing fill the streets of the city creating a mood of happiness and joy.

The origins of the celebrations may be religious but it is a popular feast where partying is just as prominent as the prayers to Mother Mary.

The city of arts and sciences, in Valencia, Spain, during Christmas.

On this day los seises or the ‘dance of six’, is performed by a group of ten choir boys dressed in 16th-century costume. The group performs an elaborate ritual of rhythmic dances and melodic songs, which are performed in front of the Gothic cathedral in Seville.

At midnight groups of traditionally dressed tunos sing and play old serenades to Mother Mary Every university in Spain has los tunos, an acoustic band formed by students.

This feast is so popular that people congregate in cities all over Spain just to get together and play a part in the street parties going on.