January 15 to 18 Fiestas in the Jumilla district of San Antón

Music and plenty to eat as well as the traditional blessing of pets and animals in Jumilla!

All over Spain the Saint’s Day of San Anton Abad or San Antonio Abad (Anthony the Great in English) is celebrated every January with a series of apparently bizarre scenes in which parish priests are called upon to bless pet animals, from dogs and cats to goldfish, sheep and all kinds of odd companions.

This is because Anthony, whose feast day falls on January 17, is the patron saint of a startling variety of aspects of life including not only animals but also skin diseases, farmers, butchers, basket makers, brush-makers and gravediggers!

In the Jumilla district named after San Antón, though, there is even more going on as the local fiestas are held to coincide with the saint’s day, and the programme in 2026 includes the following:

Thursday January 15

19.00: Holy Mass in honour of San Antón at the Iglesia Mayor de Santiago, followed by the traditional San Antón rolls, which are provided by local bakeries.

21.00: Traditional bonfires are lit in the district of San Antón.

Friday January 16

21.00: Music and dancing as the fiestas queens and others are crowned!

22.00: Drag Show: Penny Rabbit in the marquee on Calle Nuestra Señora de la Fuensanta.

Saturday January 17

Children’s games in the morning in the public park and DJ music in the marquee during the afternoon.

21.00: Traditional dinner of gachasmigas, grilled meat and “mortiriguelo” in the marquee.

23.30: Live music with Tocadiscos Coverband in the marquee.

Sunday January 18

10.00: Holy Mass in the Casa Misioneras de San José, followed by San Antón rolls and the blessing of pets and animals.

This is followed by a parade through the streets and a community meal.

17.30: Hot chocolate and rolls in the marquee.

19.30: Fireworks to mark the end of the fiestas.

For more local news, events and visiting information please contact the tourist office (telephone 968 780237, email oficinaturismo@jumilla.org) or go to the home page of Jumilla Today.