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The Fira de Santa Llúcia, which this year opens on Saturday, November 25, had its beginnings in the 18th century. In a documented way we can give the official and verified date as 1786, although possibly its beginnings are earlier.
The Fira de Santa Llúcia is the oldest Christmas fair held in Barcelona and although the actual date is difficult to ensure, that year it was documented for the first time by three figures from Catalan culture.
The first of the articles was written by Joan Amades i Gelats, a historian and folklorist born in Barcelona on July 23, 1890, who worked as a curator at the Museum of Popular Industries and Arts and the conservation of the Historical Archive of the City of Barcelona .
Amades completed his story as a writer and the history of the fair in his book Costumari català, a reference work on the traditions and folklore of Catalonia.
Joan Amades spoke of the festival of Santa Llúcia as the day of the patron saint of seamstresses, dressmakers, tailors, shirtmakers and all those people who belonged to the needlework industry and in honor of people with vision problems, not in vain. She is "the lawyer of sight."
With reference to the Christmas fair, Amades cited two fairs on those dates: the nativity scene fair that was located at the exit of the Cathedral cloister and Santa Llúcia street, which began on the day of the Purísima and there were figures , booths and other pieces typical of the nativity scene, mills, haystacks, fountain wells and bridges to cross the river that was never missing in its construction.
Another fair was located on the stairs and plaza in front of the main door of the Cathedral, where stalls offered cork and moss to decorate the nativity scene, as well as other aromatic herbs such as rosemary.
The second person who provides us with information about the Fira is none other than Rafael de Amat y Cortada Senjust, born in Barcelona on July 10, 1746, first Baron of Maldà, member of the family that for years were the owners of the complex of buildings that include the Galleries, Cinema and rooms of the primitive Palau Maldà.
Rafael de Amat, during his life, wrote without interruption a personal diary, from 1769 until his death in 1819, known as Calaix de Sastre, with an extension of 60 volumes, in which he recounted the celebrations in Catalonia.
Rafael Amat in his diary commented:
"December 13, 1786, Saint Lucia, virgin and martyr, there was a party in the Cathedral and in the chapel where the image of the Virgin was venerated, people attended mass asking that their sight be preserved with the necessary clarity. Leaving through the cloisters on the street that bears his name, there were many stalls with nativity scenes, clay and cardboard figures, images of saints, shepherds, animals, which meant that there was a large crowd of people in the stalls set up. who visited these stalls created a lively and festive atmosphere.”
The changes in customs on the part of the population, with the arrival of the Christmas tree and the lights that illuminated the manger, caused the number of stops to grow, which forced the two fairs to be joined, since the installation of more stops required thereto.
Nowadays, it is no longer just the stands of cribs and trees that are installed at the fair, but other artists who have made Christmas decorations and objects have taken advantage of the fair to sell their products.
The third article was written by Josep Maria Folch i Torres, a writer and journalist who was also interested in Catalan popular culture. Folch i Torres wrote about the fair in his book Barcelona Picturesque, a work that describes the city of Barcelona at the end of the 19th century.
With reference to Amades' quote about the dressmakers' festival, lost in our days when clothing was made by hand and those factories that now mass-produce the clothes we wear did not exist. In the cities there were Dressmakers, Tailors and Shirtmakers and citizens made at most one piece each year and the majority of these professionals had a small workshop in their home.
Later, the shops began that had a team of people in indoor workshops and on the day of Saint Llúcia, patron saint of the needle industry, they had a party and went out into the streets in groups, especially the seamstresses who with their laughter brightened the streets of Barcelona.
Currently, the Santa Llúcia Fair not only has stalls of mangers and trees, but other artists have also joined in who have created Christmas decorations and objects to sell at the fair.
Like the fair that is held in front of the cathedral, other fairs are held in the Plaza de la Sagrada Familia and in Port Vell.
