Saint Julian and Saint Basilissa, Campos

Saint Julian and Saint Basilissa are the patron saints of the Vila de Campos. They are also the patron saints of the Parish Church where the completas are held, on January 8, and the solemn service, on January 9, as religious acts. The institutional, cultural and popular activities that take place around this winter festival are diverse and change every year. In 2022, at the proposal of the City Council, the crowns of Saint Julian have become fashionable, based on traditional cream cakes. The bakeries of the town serve them during the week of January 9, as if they were divine halos of a saint, adorned only with a simple dark chocolate palm, symbol of the martyrdom of Saint Julian of Antioquia and a small print with an engraving and a gloss, in the mode of joy, composed for the occasion. It should be remembered that our patrons were a noble couple dedicated to the hospitality of the most destitute. Unlike Basilissa, who died naturally, Julian was beheaded during the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian against Christians at the beginning of the 4th century. The palm of martyrdom is iconographically an attribute adopted in the representations of the first martyrs of the Church. This icon is probably of Eastern origin, since there it is believed that when palm trees die to bear their fruit, it is as if it were a sacrifice to Mother Nature herself.
The celebrations conclude with the dance of the cossiers. But before this is a party from 11am with music, vermouth, tapas and dances by characters usually to be found at a Mallorcan fiesta – giants, bigheads and demons