The arrival of the summer solstice, a symbol of plenitude, brings with it a celebration in which fire, a purifying element, is the protagonist. In Andorra (and in many parts of the world) the festival of Saint John is an opportunity to admire the flames and enjoy their warmth. The cremada de falles, one of the most popular traditions since it was remade in 1987, is one of the most representative visual spectacles of the festival.
This celebration consists of lighting a falla and making it roll, spinning it rapidly, to create circles of fire. The people who carry it out are called fallaires and it is celebrated on the night of 23rd June in Andorra la Vella, Sant Julià de Lòria, Escaldes-Engordany and Encamp; and on the night of 28th June in Ordino.
As for the materials used in the traditional falla, a boxwood trunk is used, into which are inserted pieces of bedrock. However, nowadays, the trunk has been replaced by a chain and the tree's pieces by sheets of paper pulp wrapped in chicken wire. If you want to know more about the festival, you can do it here.