Festa de Sant Medir - Barcelona Candy Festival

Festa de Sant Medir Barcelona

Sant Medir Candy Festival Barcelona

Festa de Sant Medir. Sant Medir candy festival - also called the Fiesta de San Emeterio - is an annual festival in March in Vila de Gracia area of the Gracia district of Barcelona. The date is 3rd March.

Pictures Festa de Sant Medir Barcelona 

This festival is fondly known in Catalan as 'la festa més dolça' - 'the sweetest festival' because of the 60 tons of sweets that are given away every year during the colourful Sant Medir parade. The highlight of Sant Medir in Barcelona is the evening parade in the Gracia part of Barcelona.

The parade groups (called colles) gather on various streets in the 'Vila de Gracia' area, which is the old part of Gracia, then come together on Carrer de Sant Salvador to form a procession of horses, carts and lorries that then parade down the street Gran de Gracia to finish at the 'Jardinets de Gracia' - the little Grácia gardens. This is the wide area between at the top end of Passeig de Grácia after Av Diagonal and before Gran de Gracia starts. The evening finishes with a fireworks display. Find updated parade information on our Barcelona events page.

The local legend of the.Festa de Sant Medir (Medín), or San Emeterio in Spanish, is of a farmer named Medir, who lived in Sant Cugat on the site of the present Sant Medir chapel Ermita de Sant Medir which is outside Barcelona in the Parc Natural de la Serra de Collserola on the way to the town of Sant Cugat del Vallès.

Medir lived in the 4th century AD during the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian who carried out brutal persecutions of Christians. Fear of persecution made the Bishop Sever of Barcelona decide to flee the city. Bishop Sever met farmer and future saint Medir, who was in the fields planting beans.

Severus told Medir that he had accepted that he would probably die for his faith, and told him not to lie if the Romans asked Medir if he has seen the Bishop pass that way. The Bishop went on his way and soon after his Roman pursuers arrived and asked the farmer Medir if he had seen the Bishop pass by. Medir answered truthfully that he had seen the Bishop while he was sowing beans in the field.

As soon as Medir uttered these words the beans that he had just planted shot up as if by miracle and were fully grown. The Romans believed that Medir was deceiving them in some way and arrested him. Soon after they caught the Bishop too. Both were imprisoned and killed. And Medir became the patron saint of farmers, Saint Medir.

The modern day Sant Medir candy festival in Gracia area of Barcelona started in 1830. A baker called Josep Vidal i Granés lived in the newly opened street Gran de Gracia and he fell very ill one year. He was originally from Sant Cugat del Vallès and he vowed that if God cured him, he would make a annual pilgrimage to the chapel of Sant Medir. God did cure him and the first pilgrimage from Gracia was made. To announce his pilgrimage he banged a drum and handed out sweets.

This was very festive occasion and every year more and more friends and neighbours joined his pilgrimage. This eventually led to the establishment of the first 'colla' of the Sant Medir festival. A 'colla' is the Catalan name for a group or club. Today there are thirty 'colles' who participate and organise the annual event in the  assocation called 'La Federació de Colles de Sant Medir'  - Confederation of Sant Medir Colles.  The confederation was formed in 1926. 

Tip for the Festa de Sant Medir. Bring an umbrella! The forecast is often rain in early March and if it's not raining you can turn the umbrella over and use it to catch sweets!

Open FULLSCREEN map Sant Medir

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 07 February 2018 21:23