Santa Eulàlia is Barcelona's winter festa major, in honour of its co-patron saint, held every February around the 12th. It's designed for children and families: giants, correfocs, castells in Plaça de Sant Jaume and an eagle that ends up dancing in Santa Maria del Mar. In 2026 it ran from 12 to 15 February.
Thirteen white geese live in the cloister of Barcelona Cathedral. They aren't there for decoration: there is one for each year Eulàlia had lived, according to tradition, when she was killed. Every February, around the 12th, the city celebrates its co-patron saint with a winter festa major designed for children and families: giants, correfocs, castells and an eagle that ends up dancing in Santa Maria del Mar. If you're living in Barcelona that month, this is the festival to go to.
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A girl from Sarrià and thirteen tortures
Tradition makes Eulàlia a Christian girl from Sarrià who refused to renounce her faith during Diocletian's persecution. She would have been born around the year 290 and died around 303, aged about thirteen, after thirteen tortures, one for each year of her life. The best remembered gives its name to a street in the old town, the Baixada de Santa Eulàlia, down which she is said to have been rolled inside a barrel full of broken glass.
She died crucified on an X-shaped cross, and one version says that snow covered her naked body. According to the legend, at home she looked after geese; hence the ones in the cloister.
What history says
It's worth saying: Viquipèdia, the Catalan Wikipedia, considers her probably a legendary figure, whose story reproduces almost word for word that of Eulalia of Mérida. The first written record is a hymn by Bishop Quirze, around the year 660, more than three centuries after her supposed death, and in 2004 she was removed from the Roman Martyrology, although the local cult continues. None of this has cooled the city's fervour: the cathedral is dedicated to the Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia, and although the main patron saint has been the Mercè since 1687, Eulàlia is still co-patron.
Her remains, according to tradition, were found by Bishop Frodoí in the year 878 in the old church of Santa Maria de les Arenes, today's Santa Maria del Mar. Betevé tells the legend of their transfer: as it crossed the Pla de l'Àngel the coffin became impossible to lift, until a canon returned a finger of the saint that he had kept. Today they rest in the cathedral crypt.
The thirteen geese
The cloister geese are white, with orange bills, and stroll around a pond next to one of the chapels, according to ACI Prensa. There are thirteen for her thirteen martyrdoms and for the age at which she died. We haven't found out since when they have been there, so we give no date. From the church, you reach the cloister through the Porta de la Santa.
What the festival is like
The modern winter festa major began in 1983, when the giants of the Pi and of Plaça Nova laid its foundations, with Maria Aurèlia Capmany pushing from the council's Culture portfolio to revive it. The programme changes every year, but the 2024 one shows its skeleton. On Friday night the city's Eagle leaves the City Hall and ends up dancing before the altar of Santa Maria del Mar. On Saturday morning gegantons, big-heads and figures from schools and associations parade, led by the little giantess Laia; in the afternoon there's a correfoc of little devils and then the Correfoc de Santa Eulàlia, running in the opposite direction.
On Sunday, eight colles raise castells at the same time in Plaça de Sant Jaume for sixty minutes. On the Avinguda de la Catedral there's a gathering of bastoners, children's sardanes and the Ball de Santa Eulàlia by the Esbart Català de Dansaires. And on the 12th a wreath of flowers is laid on the Baixada de Santa Eulàlia.
In 2026, and how to enjoy it
The 2026 edition ran from Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 February, coincided with Carnival and celebrated 425 years of the Giants of the Pi. On Thursday afternoon the Laies set out from the Virreina towards Plaça de Sant Jaume; on Saturday the 14th there were correfocs at 6:30 pm and 8:00 pm, and the City Hall opened its doors from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. On the 12th several museums opened free of charge, among them the Fundació Joan Miró, the Museu Marítim and the Museu Picasso.
For anyone spending the winter in the city, it's a daytime, street and children's festival. If you can only go to one event, Sunday morning's castells are a good choice; the geese, on the other hand, stay in the cloister the rest of the year. The 2027 dates are published on the City Council website, barcelona.cat/santaeulalia.
Checked
Data checked in October 2026 against: Viquipèdia (Eulàlia de Barcelona), betevé (Va passar aquí and Festes de Santa Eulàlia 2018), Ajuntament de Barcelona (2024 programme), ACI Prensa (May 2026), Amics de la Rambla and Escapada amb nens (2026 programme).
Quick questions
Why are there thirteen geese in the cloister of Barcelona Cathedral?
There is one for each year Eulàlia had lived, according to tradition, when she was killed, and for her thirteen tortures. According to the legend, at home she looked after geese.
Which Santa Eulàlia event shouldn't you miss?
If you can only go to one, Sunday morning's castells, with eight colles raising castells at the same time in Plaça de Sant Jaume for sixty minutes.
Where are the 2027 Santa Eulàlia dates published?
On the City Council website, barcelona.cat/santaeulalia. The programme changes every year.