La Candelaria de Castuera

This is Castuera's most ancestral festival, also known as Candlemas Day. It is celebrated every year on 2 February, the feast of the purification of the Virgin. It is a festival in honour of the Virgen de la Candelaria and the conversion to Christianity of a pagan festival of purification. It is named after the blessing of the candles that will be needed throughout the year and is celebrated on 2 February as it is the fortieth day after the birth of Jesus, a date that in the past was only celebrated by the church. The whole village celebrates it by gathering with family and friends in country houses. Years ago it was celebrated in La Sierra de las Pozatas, where the young men would go with a bottle of Pitarra wine, and the young women with the typical sweet of this day, the ‘regañá’.