Fire, Sparks, Community: Sant Antoni kicks off in Mallorca's villages

Fire, Sparks, Community: Sant Antoni kicks off in Mallorca's villages

First nights with embers, music and market stalls

In January a cool breeze often blows across Mallorca, but in the villages there is a different kind of crackle now: the first Sant Antoni fire runs are getting under way. January 17 is the saint's name day, and the towns begin the traditional period of devil and fire processions with market stalls and neighborhood gatherings.

Sa Pobla has in recent years become one of the regular meeting points for Sant Antoni. On the Plaza Major, within view of the church, people gather with blankets and thermoses. When the first logs glow, the smell of wood smoke mixes with the distant sound of bells and conversation; older women in warm coats adjust their scarves, youngsters juggle sparklers, and the local brass band plays driving riffs that make feet move.

There is also a fiery atmosphere in Manacor. The fire runs there are not necessarily bigger, but they have their own rhythm: narrow alleys, short flames, gravel crunching under boots. Manacor brings a touch of town life to an almost village-like tradition — people meet in front of the town hall, children run between adults' legs, and some still wear Grandpa's old leather boots.

In the east, in Son Servera, the day starts earlier: from 5:00 pm stalls open with everything related to Sant Antoni. You can find T-shirts with local jokes, hand-painted figures, orange marmalade, and of course everything that grills well. Those who arrive late will miss the spark-spraying devil run at 11:00 pm — there the figures dressed as "dimonis" parade through the streets with spark-spraying rods, and the mood pulses late into the night.

Pollença offers a small but fine program: at 8:00 pm the Joan March gardens are the setting for a children's fire run. There the little ones are allowed to run short distances with small torches under supervision, accompanied by applause and laughter. Later, at 10:30 pm, the adults take over and the routes become a bit more intense, the flames higher and the stories longer.

Such evenings are more than spectacle: they are a practice in community. On street corners you meet people you otherwise only greet briefly; the butcher opposite has prepared an extra batch of sausages, and a neighbor brings a bottle of his homemade Hierbas. On these nights it becomes visible how the island maintains and passes on its customs.

For the island's economy these off-season dates are a small booster. Hotels and restaurants offer additional evening options, craftsmen sell figures and fabrics, and the weekly market gains a second, fiery layer of customers, as in Autumn Festivals in Mallorca: Markets, Sea and a Touch of Fire. It's not a mass rush, rather a human flow of locals and curious visitors who want to see the tradition.

If you want to join in, you should keep a few things in mind: sturdy shoes, warm clothing, distance from the fire sites and respect for the participants. Villagers are proud of their routines and usually watch carefully that everything remains reasonably safe. Small gestures help: put rubbish in the designated bins, keep dogs on a leash, and avoid unnecessary flashlights along the route.

A practical tip: if you want to experience it up close, go on foot or park outside the center. The narrow streets fill up quickly, and the atmosphere is more relaxed when fewer vehicles block the space. It's also worth supporting the local stalls — a small figure or a bag of roasted almonds becomes a memento of one of these nights.

Of course Sant Antoni is also an invitation to observe and join in: you can just stand and watch the shower of sparks and listen to the sounds — children's voices, rhythmic footsteps, a quiet guitar picking nearby — or accompany a procession actively. In many villages the atmosphere is relaxed, friendly and a little mischievous.

In the coming days you can expect more of these events around the island: some villages hold their fire runs on several evenings, others concentrate the program on the weekend around January 17, and nearby towns host other festivities such as Pirates, Drums and Fireworks over the Sea: Santa Ponsa Celebrates. It's worth checking local notices or asking at the town hall if you want to plan precisely.

In the end the image remains: flames briefly lighting faces, threads of smoke in cool air and people drawing closer together. Sant Antoni is not a spectacle for the stage, but a communal campfire that keeps villages warm, tells stories and helps hold the island together.

So if you will be in Sa Pobla, Manacor, Son Servera or Pollença in the next few days — take a jacket, bring curiosity, and respect the local rules. The nights will crackle.