Semana Santa and La Feria de Abril, Seville

The southern city of Seville hosts two of the biggest celebrations of the year. First is
Semana Santa, a week of feasting and Roman Catholic processions leading up to Easter.
Holy Week in Seville features masked parades and enormous floats with Roman
Catholic figures. This somber spectacle is followed up by La Feria de Abril, a much
more jolly event. Hundreds of tents and amusement park rides are set up for Seville's
week-long Feria. The fairgrounds swell with locals dressed in traditional garb and
booths selling libations and food. Live music fills the night air, and a festive mood
prevails. Fireworks signal the final night of the celebration, sending the crowds into
frenzied flamenco dancing.

Fiesta de San Fermin, Pamplona

La Fiesta de San Fermin is an iconic holiday that takes place in the northern town of
Pamplona. The festivities occur annually in mid-July. The best-known aspect of the
holiday is the Running of the Bulls, first made famous by Ernest Hemingway in "The
Sun Also Rises." Thousands of locals and foreigners take to the streets each morning to
sprint in front of a stampeding herd of bulls along a route leading to the city's bull ring.
The streets become treacherous, and the event is astounding to behold. Aside from this
spectacle, the Fiesta de San Fermin includes parades, fireworks and bullfighting events.

La Tomatina, Buol
One of Spain's other major celebrations is La Tomatina, a "tomato war" held in the town
of Buol outside Valencia. Tourists and locals gather on the last Wednesday of August
each year to stage a tomato-chucking battle of epic proportions. This event is part of a
week-long festival in honor of Buol's patron saint. As with most other Spanish
holidays, street parties and parades are customary. Thousands of combatants take part in
the final tomato war. According to Frommer's, the actual food fight lasts for two hours.
The local government sponsors the event by sending in over 88,000 pounds of tomatoes
to be used as ammunition. Communal shower stations are set up around town for
cleanup after the fun comes to an end.