Día de la Cruz, Nerja, Spain

Groups of people, often linked to the the religious Brotherhoods, get together and decorate a cross with flowers. The area around the cross is also decorated with traditional items, including such items as guitars, earthenware and brass objects, old sewing machines, fishing paraphernalia and woven shawls. Local and traditional foodstuffs and drinks are often served as the celebrations take the form of a street party.

The crosses and displays are for everyone to come and admire and in many places there are prizes for the best cross/best food etc.

On the religious side, the festival is apparently rooted in the search by Byzantine Empress Saint Helena for the cross on which Jesus died. Other aspects relate to pagan traditions brought to the Iberian peninsula by the Romans.