Valencia of Spain in the final countdown to the annual Fallas celebrations

VALENCIA is putting the finishing touches on the preparations for the annual Fallas festival that begins on March 1st.

Special street lighting is being erected around the city center ahead of the festival which will last until March 19, the day Valencia’s patron saint, Saint Joseph, is celebrated.

Las Fallas have their origin in an old carpentry tradition that burned old pieces of wood on March 19 to celebrate the beginning of spring.

The wood was used to prop up the lights in the house and workshop during the winter.

The traditional starting signal for the Fallas takes place this Sunday with a fireworks display at the Torres de Serrano and a professional rocket launch demonstration in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

The daily show of the Mascleta will be held from one week on Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

A Masclet emits a much bigger bang than traditional firecrackers and literally vibrates under the feet of onlookers.

For those of a less nervous disposition, one of the highlights of Fallas will be the huge ‘ninot’ statues that were burned in the carpenters’ bonfires, many of them reverted to caricatures of celebrities and politicians.

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