When is Santiago Apóstol celebrated and how is it celebrated –

If you like religious festivities or culture in general, you have to know When is Santiago Apóstol celebrated and how is it celebrated?. You have to know that the festival of Santiago Apóstol or Santiago el Mayor is celebrated on July 25 of each year and a large number of activities are usually held even 10 days before in honor of him. The festivities are both religious and secular. Let’s see more details.

The impact or importance of Santiago Apóstol in society can be seen in the long list of names derived from him: Jacobo, Jacob, Jaime, Iago, Yago, Diego, Diogo, Tiago and, obviously, Santiago.

When is Santiago Apóstol celebrated?

The July 25 of each year, although the festivities linked to this celebration begin on July 15. This day also coincides with the Galician day, although it is not by chance: Galician nationalism at the beginning of the 20th century decided to choose this day because Santiago Apóstol is the patron saint of Galicia. This day has been celebrated since 1630.

The origin of this festival has to do with the place where the remains of the Apostle are located (Compostela), who devoted himself to preaching throughout the Iberian Peninsula during his lifetime. In the process of ‘exaltation’ of the festivities related to this Apostle, the bishop of the city, Diego Gelmírez, had an enormous role (he lived between the end of the 11th century and the beginning of the 12th century).

How is Santiago Apóstol celebrated?

As previously pointed out, the celebrations linked to Santiago Apóstol they are not necessarily religious, which is why it is a source of regular tourist income for Galician tourism on an annual basis.
Therefore, these festivities have enormous tourism potential and are complemented by the Camino de Santiago and all that ‘magic’ that exists around it. We must also highlight that If the day of Santiago el Mayor falls on a Sunday, that year would be the Jacobean Year.Jubilee or Holy.

The celebrations of Santiago apostle are organized and distributed in several days and we will make a succinct summary with those key days that you cannot miss:

July 24, on the night of this day fireworks are launched in honor of this party. Although it can be seen from various points in the city, it is important to point out Obradoiro Square as its location.

July 25, is the day of the solemn mass in honor of the apostle and it is the moment in which you will be able to observe in action the well-known botafumeiro, a silver censer hung from the ceiling of the Cathedral. The so-called Offering to the Saint is also made.

Fireworks are also launched on July 31st, making it the perfect opportunity for those who missed the fireworks on July 24th.

At the same time, we must point out that there are many theatrical shows, shows, street festivals, concerts, etc. But do not forget that on July 25 everything will be closed because it is a public holiday!

In these festivals, both music and dance are of special importance, to the point that they have become two characteristic elements of the celebration of Santiago Apóstol.

We encourage you to continue learning more about this festivity and be Santiago Apóstol by reading the following post:

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