Sant Medir, the Revered Saint of… Sweets?
Every year in the days leading up March 3rd the Barcelona neighborhoods of Gràcia, Sarrià, Sant Gervasi and La Bordeta explode in what has come to be known as la festa més dolça—the sweetest festival. Children and adults alike crowd the streets of these neighborhoods with bags and inverted umbrellas in hand to gather as many sweets as they can as they rain down from the passing parade.
Magic Beans?
According to folklore, the festival’s roots go all the way back to the fourth century at the height of the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Diocletian. Fearing for his life, Bishop Severus of Barcelona fled to Sant Cugat del Vallès. As he crossed the Collserola Mountains he came upon Medir sowing broad beans in a field. The bishop explained his predicament to Medir and instructed him to be completely forthcoming if the Romans came looking for him. As soon as Severus left, the beans miraculously sprouted and began to grow.
Soon the Romans came looking for Severus, and when Medir told them that the bishop had only recently passed as he was planting his beans they were incredulous—the plants were fully grown and starting to bloom! One version of the story recounts that, believing that Medir was lying to protect the bishop, the Romans captured him. Later, they also captured the fleeing bishop and both were martyred.
Where Does the Candy Come In?
The Festival of Sant Medir wasn’t actually celebrated until much later in 1828 when Josep Vidal i Granés, a baker in the village of Gràcia, fell ill. Fearing that he may not recover, Vidal vowed that if he did survive he would make a pilgrimage each year to l’ermita de Sant Medir. Vidal had always admired Sant Medir, and when he did eventually recover, he kept his promise. Upon returning from his first pilgrimage, Vidal threw broad beans to everyone around him in homage to the tragedy that had befallen Bishop Severus and Sant Medir centuries before.
In the years following, the pilgrimage grew as Vidal’s friends and family joined him, eventually forming several groups for the pilgrimage. These groups are known as colles and still come together to carry on Vidal’s legacy. Every year over 25 colles make the pilgrimage and return to shower the crowd with sweets—apparently miraculous broad beans are harder to find these days.
2024 Sant Medir Celebrations
The festival's official opening ceremony kicks off on Sunday, February 18 with the gathering of the flag bearers, ball de bastons (stick dancing), dancing gegants, a parade and family activities.
On Sunday, February 25th the 40th annual pilgrimage from Gràcia to l’Ermita de Sant Medir begins at 8:00 from Plaça Trilla, bringing participants up trough the Horta-Guinardó district and into Collserola Park to the hermitage tucked in among the hills along the old Roman road that connected Terrassa and Barcelona. As every year, a tribute will be paid to the founder of the festival, Josep Vidal i Granés, at the cemetery of Sant Genís dels Agudells. Once at the hermitage a floral offering is laid in honor of Sant Medir.
The celebrations spread to other neighborhoods on Friday, March 1st; in the morning a number of colles will gather in the Sarrià neighborhood to parade through the streets and squares meeting in Plaça del Consell de la Vila. Then sweets will rain down again in the afternoon as the groups parade through the streets from Desert de Sarrià at 18:30 to Plaça del Consell de la Vila.
The Gràcia neighborhood wakes up early on Saturday, March 2nd to a lively parade filling its streets and squares, passing through the Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia at 10:00. Not to be outdone, the Sant Gervasi neighborhood also entertains its own parade throughout the morning. Later in the day the two neighborhoods come together for one big parade with music bands, colles, horse drawn carriages, dancers and parade floats filling the streets, starting at 19:30 from Carrer del Sant Salvador, along Carrer de Nil Fabra and down Gran de Gràcia to Pla de Salmeron.
Celebrations fill the morning and afternoon of Saint Medir's Day on March 3rd at the hermitage in Collserola Park. Starting at 10:00, gegants and capgrossos make the pilgrimage with ordinary folks up from Sant Cugat to the sacred site, and then perform a dance for all to enjoy. From 11:30 to 14:30 the day is a wonderful celebration of Catalan cultural heritage; you're sure to see the traditional sardana dancing, an official outdoor mass in honor of the saint, ball de bastons and the impressive castells (human castles) all accompanied by local musicians playing traditional Catalan songs.
On the Sunday following Sant Medir's day (March 10) church bells ring throughout the neighborhood as another parade fills the streets surrounding the Parish of Sant Medir in La Bordeta neighborhood—with yet more candy showered upon onlookers. Also on the tenth is the diada castellera de Sant Medir at noon in the Sants neighborhood.
Published on February 26, 2020, updated February 18, 2024.