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Festa de Sant Joan

The Festival of Saint John (Festa de Sant Joan) is one of the major festivals of Catalonia celebrating not just the religious day, but also marking the start of summer and the end of school, as well as being close to the Summer Solstice. It is also one of the noisiest and loudest festivals because it's traditional celebrated by letting off bangers - and the louder the better. Many people head to the beach for all nighters to drink, to set off fireworks, and to wait for the sun to come up.

For us, it's too noisy. Stalls selling fireworks open up for about a week before the night and slowly, during the build up to the day itself, we get more and more bangs. Until the day and night itself, where the bangs continue through the night. We used to live in Barcelona, and it was a night that was impossible to sleep.

Now being on the Costa Brava, things are quieter comparatively - partly because the economic crisis reduced sales, but also because fireworks are banned from wooded area for the risk of fire. However, there is still enough noise to scare our dog, and so we tend to take a short break into France to get away from the bangs. Most of which is just noise, and not the colourful flash and sparkles of prettier fireworks.

For the Costa Brava, Festa de Sant Joan is also the start of the Festa Major for Palamos (Sant Joan being the saint of Palamos). Festa Majors happen up and down the coast through the summer. Though they sometimes look as if they are tourist promotions, actually they are very much local affairs for local inhabitants with long historical traditions usually including a procession of Giants or Cap Grossa (big heads) that represent the town.

During the day things are quieter, but often with events for children, or something cultural or sporting on. This year Palamos is commemorating the 475th anniversary of the 1543 attack and sacking of Palamos by the Ottoman Admiral/Pirate Barbarossa and his fleet of 20 galleys.

The main events start in the evenings and are known as 'barraques' with music from local Catalan bands and partying into the night with neighbours and friends, usually starting quite late - about 11pm and running into the night.

Palamos's festival ends with a major firework display on the main beach running up to midnight. This time proper fireworks that light up the sky and are visible from a wide area.

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