Traditional Celebration in Honour of San Jaime 2023 in Calviá

Next Tuesday the 25th of July the fiestas of San Jaime, the most important of the town of Calviá, will be celebrated. From Monday 17th to Tuesday 25th there will be different activities of all kinds, combining cultural and recreational events with sporting and, obviously, religious ones. The main aim of these fiestas is for the locals to participate and enjoy a pleasant time together as a family. There will be traditional games, DJ performances, cinema, theatre, karaoke, bingo and much more.

But What Is Being Celebrated on 25 July?

It is the feast of Saint James the Apostle, one of Jesus' disciples present both at the transfiguration that took place on Mount Tabor and at his appearance on Lake Tiberias once he had risen from the dead. Later, according to medieval tradition, Santiago (in Spanish) evangelised what is now Galicia. 

But why Are St James and Santiago the Same Person?

Santiago is an extremely popular name in Spain and is also the namesake of Jaime, Jacobo and Diego. They all derive from the Hebrew name Iaakov, which in Latin was translated as Iacobus. The apostle was called Sanctus Iacobus which became Sant Iago in Spain, and the latter was merged into a single word.