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People participate at the Fia-Faia festival with the “faias” lit on December 24, 2024 in Bagà, Spain. The festival of the Falles dels Pyrenees is an ancient tradition that is celebrated on the night of the summer solstice in different towns. The event was awarded as Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2015. During the winter, this tradition is only celebrated in two towns in Catalonia: Bagà and Sant Julià de Cerdanyola, called 'Fia-Faia'. The Fia-Faia festival has pre-Christian roots linked to the winter solstice but is celebrated on Christmas Eve. The “fallaires” are the people who carry the “falles” or “faias”, the torches made with long, thin and dry grasses, which are burned and are like a ritual prayer to stop the shortening of the days. (Photo by Cesc Maymo/Getty Images)
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