Sant Antoni Fiesta & the Curious Tradition of Pollenca's Pujada del Pi

Many towns host their own Sant Antoni celebrations, but some of the most intriguing take place in the north. The night of 16 January, before the more formal blessings on the 17th, is traditionally Sa Pobla's occasion to mark the festival.

In Sa Pobla, the council sets up large bonfires and dimonis parade through the square. Sant Antoni is also when the Mallorcan percussion instrument, the ximbomba, comes into its own. The drum has a long thin wooden stick through the centre of the skin, which is rubbed to produce a deep rhythmic vibration.

The ximbomba, alongside the tradition of gloses (Mallorca's form of improvised sung verse) provides a familiar soundtrack to Sant Antoni. Singers take to the stage to perform the traditional gloses before the torrades begin. The food grilled on the bonfires is typically botifarrons (Mallorcan black pudding) and sobrassada, eaten on artisan bread.

The bonfires are traditionally lit as a reminder of Sant Antoni's resistance to temptation by the devil, and serve equally well to ward off the cold of a January night. The celebrations continue on the main square well into the night, with small groups of ximbomba players and singers keeping the music going.

Sant Antoni is the patron saint of animals, and many towns hold parades at which the local church blesses any animal brought to them from horses and flocks of sheep to dogs, ferrets and household birds. Muro and Llucmajor are among the towns that centre their celebrations on this blessing. In Artà, the tradition of wearing a white shirt with a red neckerchief and red skirt is still observed, and locals gather in the church to sing.

A distinctive tradition in both Port de Pollença and Pollença is the pujada del pi, the climb of the pine. Each year the people of Port de Pollença travel to Formentor to cut down and strip a 20-metre pine tree, which is then towed by boat back to the port. The tree is dragged through the streets to the main square, coated in soap and hoisted upright beside the church.

The same tradition takes place in Pollença, where on 10 January locals travel to Ternelles to fell the tree and bring it to Plaça Vella. It is winched up to full height by teams pulling on ropes from inside the upper floor of the church.

Once in place, it falls to brave Pollençins to attempt the climb with no safety ropes or harness. Around ten people grip the tree or hold the supporting ropes at any one time, and attempts typically continue for an hour or more before anyone reaches the top.

Once taken down, the pine is put to further use: the wood is carved into the swords carried during La Patrona, the town's other great festival, held in summer.