Luminarias
Las Luminarias are a religious celebration that takes place on January 16th, eve of St Anthony's day, in the village of San Bartolomé de Pinares, near Ávila, Spain.
Villagers believe that the patron saint of animals - St. Anthony - purifies their animals with fire, protecting them for the working year ahead, thus ensuring good crops in the region.
The narrow cobblestone streets of San Bartolome get filled with smoke, punctuated only by the glow of the more than twenty bonfires where riders and their horses jump over the flames.
This tradition is reported to be 500 years-old, and it probably began as a way to keep working animals in good health in a time where villagers subsistence fully depended on their agricultural labour.