Ibiza Fiestas 2009: San Antonio

Published 19 January 2009 Stephen White.

Tags: Ibiza News, Winter

slither, swim, fly or run on many legs

If it's January 17th then it must be San Antonio day. Ibiza's second city celebrates its Saint's day with a ceremonial blessing (benediction) of the animals in front of the town hall.

This year it was the turn of the Bishop of Ibiza, Vicente Juan Segura, to do the honours in front of a large Bank Holiday crowd. After a drive past of traditional horse drawn carts, horses and donkeys, the myriad of animals filed past the Bishop to receive a sprinkling of Holy Water.

Bishop in a pink hat

Predominantly dogs, the procession also included cats, mice, rabbits, snakes, terrapins, fish, ferrets, birds, in fact anything that could slither, swim, fly or run on many legs was there. It was also an excuse to dress the animals up in their bank holiday best with colourful coats and costumes galore.

The end of the ceremony was marked by the release of hundreds of doves into the cloudy skies and by some miracle the rain held off until after the blessing.

Here are some photos of the day.

Dog in a pink tutu

Eeeeeek it's a mouse!

Blessed are the terrapins

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