The Fallas festival in Valencia is one of the most important and spectacular celebrations in Spain. Every March, especially between the 15th and the 19th, the city transforms with hundreds of temporary monuments, fireworks displays, music, party and traditional events that attract more than a million visitors each year. These artistic monuments combine satire, creativity, and social commentary before being burned during the final night of the celebration called Cremá. Because fire plays such a central role in the festivities, many visitors also describe it as the Valencia’s fire festival.
This festival, deeply rooted in Valencian culture, was recognized in 2016 by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. However, although it is now an internationally known event, the origin of the Fallas of Valencia remains a subject of study and debate. Different theories link their birth to guild traditions, agricultural rituals, and popular customs that date back several centuries.
The Etymology behind the Fallas
To better understand the origins of the Fallas, one of the first steps is to analyze the etymology of the word. The term “fallas” comes from the Valencian falles, a word already documented in medieval texts. This term derives from the Latin facula, meaning “small torch.” In turn, facula is the diminutive of fax, which in Latin means “torch” or “firebrand.” As Vulgar Latin evolved into medieval Valencian, the word gradually changed phonetically until it appeared in medieval forms such as fayles or falles, eventually giving rise to the modern term.
In its earliest uses, the word falles referred specifically to torches or firebrands lit during popular celebrations. Over time, the term also became associated with festive bonfires, especially those lit at certain times of the year. Eventually, the word itself came to name the festival, reflecting how fire—an essential element of the celebration since its origins—came to symbolize the entire festivity.
The carpenters' guild tradition
One of the most widely accepted explanations for the origin of las Fallas is related to the medieval carpenters’ guild. According to this theory, Valencian carpenters celebrated the end of winter by burning leftover wood and other materials from their workshops on the eve of March 19, the feast day of Saint Joseph. This connection eventually linked the celebration of las Fallas to San José, since Saint Joseph is the patron saint of carpenters.
Among the objects they burned was the parot, a wooden structure used to hang oil lamps that illuminated workshops during the winter months. When spring arrived and daylight increased, these structures were no longer necessary and were thrown into the fire. Over time, people began dressing or decorating these wooden structures with old clothes or other objects to give them a human appearance. This simple gesture may have been the origin of the first ninots, the figures that today form the central characters of the monuments seen during the Fallas’ festival.
Ancient fire rituals and seasonal traditions
Alongside this guild-related origin, many historians also point to a much older background of a pagan and agricultural nature. In many pre-Christian European societies, it was common to light bonfires at key moments of the solar calendar, especially during the solstices and equinoxes, as a symbolic ritual to “burn away” the old — winter, associated with scarcity and death — and to welcome the spring and the new agricultural cycle. These practices were closely linked to the fertility of the land and the rebirth of nature.
Similar traditions have survived to this day. One example is the hogueras de San Juan (Bonfires of Saint John) in Spain. On the night of June 23, it is traditional in many Spanish coastal areas to light bonfires on the beach; in fact, these bonfires are the official festival of the city of Alicante. But this tradition is not unique to Spain. Similar celebrations exist in other parts of Europe as well: Midsommar in Sweden, Juhannus in Finland, Sankt Hans Aften in Denmark, and the Night of Ivan Kupala in Eastern Europe. In all of them, fire preserves its ancient meaning of purification, renewal, and celebration of the natural cycle that begins with the arrival of the warm season, an idea tah also lies at the heart of las Fallas.
The first historical references (18th century)
Although historians cannot determine the exact moment when the festival began, there are written records showing that the tradition already existed in Valencia during the 18th century. One of the earliest documented references dates from 1740, when the city council issued a regulation prohibiting the burning of fallas in certain narrow streets because of the risk of fire. Similar regulations appeared again in 1751, 1784, and 1792, suggesting that the tradition had already become widespread. These documents confirm that the Fallas of Valencia were already part of the city’s popular culture, although they do not describe what these early fallas looked like. It is therefore unclear whether they were simple bonfires made of discarded materials or whether they already included figures.
Another interesting reference appears in 1774, when a document recounts how a young man was beaten after his cart crashed into a “falla” during the night of March 19. It is noteworthy that the text uses the term quite naturally, suggesting that the word was already well known among the population. Moreover, the fact that a cart could collide with it suggests that it was not merely a bonfire on the ground, but likely some type of structure or more elaborate installation.
Early description of the festival
A more detailed description of the early Fallas appears at the beginning of the 19th century in the work of the French traveler Alexandre de Laborde. In his book Itinéraire descriptif de l’Espagne, he describes the so-called “Fallas of Saint Joseph” ( Fallas de San José ), explaining that on the eve of this feast figures made of wood and paper were erected in the streets, representing satirical or theatrical scenes that were later burned. Laborde also notes that the tradition was linked to the carpenters’ guild and mentions that as many as 150 fallas could be seen throughout the city, demonstrating that the celebration already had a strong popular presence.
During the same period, specifically in 1819, we also find references from a visitor named José Calasanz Biñeque during his stay in Valencia. In his writings he mentions, in Spanish, the fallas as figures placed in the streets and later burned, confirming that by the beginning of the 19th century the festival already included figurative elements and was no longer limited to simple bonfires.
A possible rural origin
In addition to the guild-related theory, another possible explanation places the origin of the Fallas in the Valencian huerta and the agricultural customs of the surrounding rural areas. In these regions it was common to light bonfires to burn pruning remains, crop residues, and other agricultural waste, a practice linked to the end of winter and the preparation of the fields for the new agricultural cycle. Over time, these bonfires may have become incorporated into festive celebrations connected with the arrival of spring.
In this context we also find the figure of the stot, the name given to certain traditional scarecrows used in the Valencian huerta. These figures, made with old clothes and improvised materials, resemble the earliest ninots because of their rudimentary human appearance. Some researchers suggest that the custom of burning these dolls or similar figures in festive bonfires may gradually have evolved into the satirical ninots that today characterize the monuments of the Fallas festival.
This theory reinforces the idea that the origin of the Fallas may be linked to rural and pagan traditions associated with fire and seasonal change, practices that were later transferred to, or reinterpreted within, the urban environment of Valencia.
A festival shaped by many traditions
As is often the case with many popular traditions, the origin of the Fallas of Valencia is likely the result of a combination of several customs: ritual bonfires linked to the agricultural cycle, the practices of the carpenters’ guild, and popular celebrations that gradually evolved into the fallas monuments we see today.
If you want to truly understand this festival, its history, its ninots, and its events, the best way is to experience it in person. On my private tours during the Fallas festival, you can discover the history and secrets of this Valencian tradition while exploring some of the most impressive fallas in the city.
