If you had to determine the exact moment when Christmas begins in Barcelona, you would surely choose the moment when the Christmas illuminations are switched on, a tradition that this year begins on Thursday 28 November with a great spectacle on Passeig de Gràcia. Solvern, a proposal that combines urban dance, rap and audiovisual effects, is the prelude to celebrations that, in Barcelona, take the form of shows for the whole family, music and traditions.

Once the lights that decorate the city are on, head to Plaça de Sant Jaume, where on Wednesday 29 November you will be able to see a large star named Origen. Its presence and the immersive show of which it forms part, will be the star of the Christmas festival in the heart of the city. Not far away, in the same square, a large Christmas tree measuring fifteen metres, courtesy of Mercabarna and decorated by the florist Xavier Lloveras, will convey a message of hope and peace. Are you looking for a traditional nativity scene? The two largest and most classic ones can be found at the Town Hall Carriage Courtyard, where the Associació de Pessebristes de Barcelona is celebrating the centenary of Joan Salvat-Papasseit, and at Monestir de Pedralbes.

In Plaça de Catalunya there is a Christmas Festival (see photo) which, from 20 to 30 December, brings together more than twenty-five performances of theatre, dance, music and circus, of which some thirteen are city premieres. Family mornings, circus and dance evenings with local and international artists and afternoon concerts featuring musicians from the most diverse scenes, from groove to electronica and from jazz to folk, are the prelude to a night-time show that can be seen at 8 p.m. It is Natal, a creation of Animal Religion, the prestigious company of Quim Girón. Although it will take place in Plaça de Catalunya, the festival will be extended from 14 to 21 November to the city’s districts, with musical performances in Nou Barris, Sant Andreu and Sants-Montjuïc.

In the same Plaça de Catalunya, from 19 to 29 December, don’t miss the Fira de Consum Responsable i d’Economia Social i Solidària (Responsible Consumption and Social and Solidarity Economy Fair), with around sixty companies and activities.

More music? Sons de Ciutat programme enters the Christmas season and fills the markets and public spaces of the city’s ten districts with shows of emerging talent that cover the entire sound palette and which, from 7 December to 3 January, will bring more than eighty performances of opera, jazz, rumba, soul, pop and electronica to the ears of Barcelona’s citizens.

Classics such as the concert Canta Gran (23 December at L’Auditori), this year dedicated to French chanson and with the participation of more than six hundred singers, and the Christmas Concert of the Orfeó Català which, on 3 January, premieres at Cathedral square, are some of the other proposals that, this Christmas, will make you want to sing.

Possibly, these days you will be looking for a Christmas Fair where you can buy what your nativity scene is missing. You will find what you need at the Fira de Santa Llúcia, around the Cathedral, from 28th November to 23rd December. It is so traditional that they are celebrating their 238th edition! You’ll also find a Christmas market at Sagrada Família, which opens on the same dates as Santa Llúcia. Are you missing a last-minute present? You’ll find something at Fira de Reis de la Gran Via, which runs from 14 December to 6 January, between Muntaner and Rocafort.

A new edition of the Fira de Nadal at the Port Saltiest Christmas , goes for family activities, attractions and an ice rink that surely will tempt the youngest public. There will also be an icel rink in the Plaça dels Somnis at the Tibidabo Amusement Park, which will be hosting a Christmas party from 23 November to 5 January and which not only opens the rink to occasional fans, but also puts it at the service of a ballet on skates inspired by Tchaikovsky’s Nuttcracker. 

Finally, remember that the Montjuïc Children’s Festival will return to the Fira de Barcelona from 27 to 30 December, having become a point of reference for children, teenagers and young people from Barcelona. 

But how will Barcelona be celebrating the year 2025? Well, with a show of drones, pyrotechnics and a monumental sceneography imagined by Groupe F, a well-known company directed by Christophe Berthonneau, which will also be welcoming the coming year. Expect five hundred drones over the Barcelona sky and majestic pyrotechnics.

Once you’ve changed the year, you’ll be ready… to welcome the Kings of Orient. From 27 December to 4 January, Fabra i Coats becomes a Toy Factory. Do you want to know where the presents come from? Come and see how they are made and then, on 5 January, come and welcome their Majesties and follow the City Cavalcade or one of the cavalcades that will go around Barcelona’s districts.

On 28, 29 and 30 December you can also visit El país del rei Baltasar, in Nou Barris and, on 2, 3 and 4 January, the Nou Barris Royal Camp, this time in the Plaça Major of the district.