Tenerife plays host to several spectacular celebrations over the course of the year. If you are looking to go there on your holidays it might be worth timing them to coincide with one of these, as they are truly a joy to behold.

Perhaps the most traditional religious festivals on the islands are known as the pilgrimages, or romerías. These celebrations, which include both Christian and secular elements, tend to take the form of giant parades with wagons, floats, ploughing teams and livestock, in honour of the patron saints of the place where they occur. These processions are accompanied by dances, feasts, sports, and the wearing of trajes de mago, the traditional dress of Tenerife.

Another big event in the Tenerife calendar is known as the Queen of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. These events have their origins in the parties thrown by the richest denizens of the island to celebrate their patron saints, which they looked to for better harvests, rainfall, fertile lands and healing. They paid homage to these saints by sharing the fruits of their harvest, which included, of course, the local wine! These parties have evolved over the years into processions marking festivals in honour of St. Augustine in Arafo, St. Isidore the Labourer in Los Realejos and La Orotava, St Benedict in La Laguna, St. Roch in Garachico, and St. Mark in Tegueste.

The Carnival of Santa Cruz is probably the most important festival in Tenerife, which draws crowds from around the globe. This carnival is celebrated all over the island, but nowhere more than in Santa Cruz itself. The festival includes bands of street musicians known as murgas, groups of minstrels called rondallas de Tenerife, masquerades (comparsas), and various other associations. The first part of the carnival ends with the election of a carnival queen, and after that the carnival begins in earnest, with thousands of people making merry in the street for the next ten days.

Monarch are currently offering Tenerife holidays from £394 for 7 nights, so take a look at their website to make a booking and experience some of the festivities for yourself!

Other major festivals include Corpus Christi, which is celebrated with large floral carpets which are laid out in the streets, and Easter, which is celebrated with a series of elaborate street processions to mark the major Easter events such as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.

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