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One of the most popular festivals in the country of Spain is the Las Fallas festival that is held in Valencia. It is an annual event that is conducted every year from 15th March and continues till the 19th of March. This festival is often referred to as one of the noisiest festivals of the country as the sound of fireworks and merry making rent the air throughout the duration of the festival. The quiet city of Valencia is abuzz with tourists and Spaniards from other cities who flock to the region to take part in the festival.

The origins of the Las Fallas festival can be traced back to the 19th century. The event as we have it today has evolved since then. The nintos or the Fallas are highly ornamental as well as satirical symbols that are placed on the streets of Valencia to serve the purpose of being a political or a social comment. The festival begins on the 1st of March. It is declared as having begun at the city square amidst the explosion of hundreds of firecrackers. The important events of the festival however do not start until the 16th. In the days between 1st and the 16th the city is decorated with over 700 Fallas.

“Fallas” is a local term for huge caricatures of local and international personalities. The artists of the country build these caricatures all through the year and at the time of the festival these are displayed in the city squares for a total of five days after which they are set to fire and destroyed. The city is filled with the noise of fireworks and crackers.

The most spectacular event of the festival is the Ofrenda de Flores a la Virgen de los Desamparados. On March 17th and 18th there is a parade that is held. It starts at 4 pm and continues well into the night. Every member belonging to the fallas wear their intricately and elaborately designed costumes and carry flowers as offerings to the patron saint. At the midnight of March 19th the closing ceremony of the festival takes place. A huge bonfire is built and all the ninots that were painstakingly built throughout the year are burnt to ashes. The people however pick out one of the ninots by a majority vote and preserve it in the famous Fallerno museum.

The Fallas might be in any form. In some cases they might take the shape of a human being while in some other cases they might be a vegetable or an animal. The burning ceremony of the Fallas is regarded as a purifying act and it happens at midnight on Saint Joseph’s day.

There are mass gatherings to celebrate the festival and spectacular fireworks display. An important event in the festival is the mascleta which is a display of fireworks. There are groups that compete for in putting up the most brilliant display of fireworks. The group that makes the noisiest display is awarded the prize. This competition brings the festival to a closure.