Parade of the Three Wise Men

The festivity follows the classic pattern. In the evening of January 4th a royal knight comes to town to collect the last letters which store the dreams of the children. On the eve of the Epiphany the parade of the Three Wise Men is held. They enter the town through Saint Michael's Gate where the parade starts. The knights and the cars carry presents for the good children and coal for the naughty ones. Along the route some of the children who live along the royal parade get their presents form the hands of the knights themselves. At the Town Hall the local authorities welcome the Three Men and from the balcony a speech is delivered. Then the town goes to the church with the Three Wise Men, where the presents are handed down to the children after a small reception.

The night of the 6th the sponsors of Saint Anthony festivity usually organize the Three Wise Men ball.

Saint Julian Procession

The 7th of January is a public holiday in Morella, it is the Patron Saint Day of the town. The date remembers the dedication of the church a few days after the Christian conquest. In the morning, religious celebrations are held (mass and procession). A civil ceremony is held in the Town Hall where medals and recognitions are given to special people and associations.

Saint Anthony Bonfire

The "santantonades" are one of the most characteristic and peculiar festivities in Els Ports county. In Morella it is celebrated the weekend following the date of Saint Anthony Abad (January 17th).

On Friday evening a play based on the life of the saint is held at the Door of the Disciples of the Saint Mary's Church. After the representation of the temptations which the saint suffered, the hut is burned. The glacial cold of a winter night becomes suddenly into the light and heat of the fire. The festivity can have more or less elements depending on whether there is a sponsor or the members of the Farmers Brotherhood organize the event. At the House of the Farmers Brotherhood it has become a habit that the sponsor of the festivity gives a small cake to the people as well as liquor and muscatel wine. Then the young people sing "albades" songs along the streets of the town. These songs are made in honour of the Saint and criticize the local life.

A few years ago some traditions that had been lost have been recovered. On Saturday afternoon it is represented the "llaurà" and the "mondongo". They consist of representations of some traditional activities like ploughing in the fields or making black sausages in the framework of the traditional slaughtering of animals. Another act is the "contrabando" or smuggling. It is a parody of the meetings between the armed forces and the smugglers of goods; sometimes comments about the village life can be heard. We can also meet the "estudiantina" music group, the fig guy or the conscription boys with broomsticks.

Carnival

Carnival is a festivity where people used to dress up criticizing current events and the authority. It used to take place from the Sunday to the Tuesday previous to Lent. Then, it did not take place after the Spanish Civil War and it was recovered with the democracy. Nowadays, it occurs the weekend after it is set in the calendar, nevertheless, on Friday some pubs also organize some parties.

Morella's carnival keeps a critic tone and one of its main characteristics is its absolute freedom of organization: people disguise as they want, in groups of friends, in couples or individually. There are two parades: children in the afternoon and adults in the evening. There is a popular ball in the main street all night long.

Procession

The commemoration of the last days of the terrenal life of Jesus starts on Palm Sunday. The benediction of palms is held in front of Saint Francis Convent and people walk to the church in a procession. A few years ago a group of drummers started the habit of the Break the Hour. On Friday morning the "Via Crucis" takes place.

Among the religious acts the solemn and austere processions stand out, the black colour of the Pains Brotherhood tells us about the severity and rigour of Morella's Holy Week. On Thursday the penitents carry a symbol of the Passion of Jesus. On Holy Friday there is the parade of the Holy Burial in the evening. On Easter Day groups of young people usually have a picnic to eat traditional cakes and pies.

Entrega del rotllo

Spring is the time of pilgrimages. Some have been lost but some have been preserved. The first Saturday of May people from Morella walk down to Vallivana Shrine to honour the Mother of God of Vallivana, which is more than twenty kilometers far away from the town, on Sunday they walk back. Every six years people go on pilgrimage in August to fetch the Mother of God and they return Her in October, therefore there is no pilgrimage in May since 1824 when it was decided that way. Since there is the new N-232 road the pilgrimage tries to get far from the traffic and it is returning to the traditional paths.

From Saint Mark (April, 25th) to Saint Christopher (July, 10th) in several places of the wide local council the earth is blessed. Some people, some of them because it is their turn among those farmers near a shrine, and some because they made a promise, they usually give a cake to those attending: the cake of Saint Mark for instance.

Procession of the Corpus

The procession of the Corpus is one of the oldest, it dates back to 1357 and follows the pattern of Valencia, three years earlier. The procession keeps different Biblical scenes. Since 1990, when Corpus was not a public holiday any longer, the festivity has been celebrated the following Sunday. On Saturday there is the Slaughter of the Innocents, many children dressed up in white and red and some Biblical characters remind us this event.

Festivity of Saint John's neighbourhood

The neighbours of some areas of the town (Saint John, Saint Michael, "La Puritat", Colon Square) organize the festivity of each neighbourhood. The festivity of Saint John, which is almost thirty years old, still keeps some of the ancient habits of Saint John's Eve like stealing flowerpots from the balconies and leave them on Saint John Stairs. Other groups have their own day to celebrate, like drivers on Saint Christopher or musicians on Saint Cecily Day.

August Festivities

From the sixties in the last century some festivities have been concentrating in August, like Youth Week, Cultural August, Music Festival, days dedicated to Senior citizens, children and the Mother of God.

The bulls of Saint Roc occur in August since 1966. It was a festivity for the neighhours of Saint Roc street, then in 1960 the conscription boys took charge of it. It is usually celebrated the week following the 15th of August, the Assumption of the Mother of God, but this date can change according to the extraordinary festivities (Anunci, Sexenni).

On Saturday and Sunday the dance of the Pilgrims walks the main streets, the children say poems in order to honour the saint. These poems usually criticize social life. On Sunday the protections against the bulls are built in the main streets of the town. From the late eighties there are four days to run the bulls.

Cattle Fair

This fair was allowed by James I in 1257 and nowadays it is celebrated the second weekend of September. It is a cattle fair and a commercial fair, both traditions made the medieval town famous. Trade and animals, the commercial tradition of the town is next to a selection of farm animals, farm facilities, tools and machinery.

Christmas' Eve

Christmas is a festivity for the family. Families get together round a table for a traditional menu based on meatballs. On Christmas' Eve people go out to sing carols in the street. Boxing Day is a public holiday. Many tourists come to our land to celebrate New Year's Eve, especially in guest rural houses and bed and breakfast.