Dec 30, 2020
“Festa del Pi” (the Pine Tree Festivity), a tradition celebrated every December 30th in Centelles, Central Catalonia.
The origin of this festivity is unknown, but it’s thought to be inherited from the ancient cult to the trees and the pagan rituals related to the fecundation of the land and the winter solstice.
Nowadays, it’s explained with the legend of Centelles’s patron saint, Santa Coloma (Saint Columba), a martyr who was burnt tied to a pine tree. So the people from the town cut down a pine tree and offer it to her.
But don’t worry about deforestation, the area is full of forests and for every pine tree they cut down, they plant three more.
Photos by Jordi Borràs
