SAN ANTONIO AND SAN SEBASTIAN OPEN XÀBIA’S 2024 FIESTA PROGRAMME
This weekend is dedicated to the patron of animals whilst the following weekend honours the patron saint of Xàbia.
Christmas is barely over but in Xàbia the festive fun continues during the month of January with the festivities dedicated to San Antonio Abad and San Sebastian, the latter being the patron saint of Xàbia.
The councillor responsible for Fiestas, Mavi Perez (CPJ), met with representatives of the three commissions with organise these fiestas – Comisión de Fiestas de Sant Sebastià, Centro de Actividades Ecuestres (CAE) “El Tirasset” and Peña La Burrera – to present the programme of events that have been drawn up to celebrate these special days.
Fiesta SAN ANTONIO ABAD
The festivities begin this weekend with those honouring San Antonio Abad, the patron saint of animals. At midday on Saturday 13th January, CAE El Tirasset will be carrying out the transfer of the pine tree from Plaza de la Constitución to Carrer Sant Antoni. At the same time, members of Penya La Burrera will be parading through the streets of the historic centre with the traditional sounds of dulzaina and drum.
That evening, at 8.00pm, there will be the 24th edition of the BURNING OF THE SANT ANTONI PINE in the square of Sant Antoni which will be enlivened by music and there will be snacks and mistela for those attending.
On Sunday 14th January, at 11.00am, there will be a parade of horses and carts starting at the square of Sant Antoni which will travel down to the port before returning to town for the BLESSING OF HORSES AND ANIMALS in the Plaza de la Constitución at about 1.00pm.
On Wednesday 17th January, the feast day of Sant Antoni Abad, there will be a special mass at midday in the church of Mare de Déu de Loreto in the port, following by a modest procession to the Paseo Maritimo where the priest will bless the animals.
SANT ANTONI FUNFAIR
In addition, the annual funfair of San Antonio will open on Friday 12th January and remain open until Sunday 4th February with rides and attractions for all the family. On Friday 19th January, there will be hot chocolate on offer whilst Friday 26th January has been nominated as “Children’s Day” with special prices.
Fiesta SAN SEBASTIAN – Patron de Xàbia
Hot on the heels of the festivities of Sant Antoni, there are those which honour Sant Sebastià, the patron saint of Xàbia, which will take place from Wednesday 17th January until Sunday 21st January.
The religious side of the celebrations are organised by the Comisión de Fiestas de Sant Sebastià and the Mayorales 2024 (Alberto Tur, María Luisa Ahuir, Toñi Alvárez, José Molina, Elvira Escortell, Nieves Escortell, Mari Carmen Sancho, Ana Bañuls, Mª Ángeles Espasa, Ana Rosa Lacueva, Lucía Andrés, Alba Carrió, Nuria Sart, Vicente Costa, Ángeles Buigues, Bartolomé Ros, Vivi Berruti, Lucía Costa, Paula Nevado, Laura Ros, Anna Salvador, Itziar Espasa, Miguel García, Patricia Barber, Santiago Fernández, Greta Manganini and Cristina Gallego) and will be concentrated on Saturday 20th January, the feast day of Sant Sebastià.
On this special day, there will be the traditional early morning wake-up wander around the streets followed by parades to visit the niches dedicated to the saint in Carrer Sant Sebastià and Carrer Mayor, the latter of which will see the commission place the new image of the saint after the disappearance of the original figure last year. There will also be a special mass accompanied by the parish choir.
A new addition to the Sant Sebastià programme will be the TARDEO SANT SEBASTIÀ FEST in Parque Montaner with a special theatre show for the little ones following by a disco set with DJs Toni Bup, María La Gavi and Alex Femenía, followed by the REMEMBER THE MUSIC DJ set with José Coll.
In the heart of the historic centre, the Asociación Cultural Taurina de Xàbia (ACT Xàbia) has organised a series of bull-running events from Thursday 18th January to Sunday 21st January with sessions by several regional ranches, including El Cali, La Hermandad and Benavent.
The festive programme for Sant Sebastià will conclude with the SANT SEBASTIÀ PATRÓ DE XÀBIA CYCLING TROPHY on the morning of Sunday 21st January, which forms one of the stages of the Volta Ciclista a la Marina.
