March 19, 2012 11:26:47
Posted By P & L Blog
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March 19th, the feast day of St. Joseph the carpenter, is celebrated in Valencia, Spain with the burning of large, papier-mache and plaster statues know as ninots. Las Fallas, or The Fires, is a five day celebration that culminates in the burning of the structures which satirize the famous, the infamous, and current events.
The ninots can stretch several stories high and take up to a year to build. On March 19 at midnight, the ninots are ignited simultaneously, destroying thousands of hours of work. The festival is believed to have pagan origins, when fires were ignited for people to get rid of the old and to start anew. It is probably no coincidence that this rite takes place on the eve of the first day of spring.
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