Celebrate a traditional Majorcan Christmas and New Year’s Eve

Apart from the Majorca’s remarkably fine weather at Christmas, there is a host of traditions and customs to be enjoyed at this time of year. Two nights in particular stand out as opportunities for sharing with family and friends, for reviving old acquaintances and traditions. Allow us to take this opportunity to tell you about how we celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Majorca.

On Christmas Eve it is customary to have dinner with the family before attending Misa del Gallo, a Midnight Mass celebrated in honour of the birth of Jesus. Midnight Mass is a very special occasion on the island, as Majorca is one of the few places that still retains the medieval tradition of the Song of the Sibyl, one of a handful of still-surviving examples of festive-religious celebrations dating back to the Early Middle Ages. This unique event was officially classified as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2010, and we therefore urge you to drop in if you can. The masses held in Palma Cathedral, just a few minutes’ drive from our hotel, and the Lluc monastery, are particularly lovely.

Following mass it is customary to celebrate the coming of Christmas in Majorca by drinking hot chocolate in the company family and friends, accompanied by our best-known pastry, the ensaïmada.

The second big night in December in Majorca is New Year’s Eve, which is commemorated with a traditional family dinner, although these days many prefer to celebrate it with friends. The best-known tradition on this, the final night of the year, is that of the twelve grapes, which consists of eating one grape for each of the tolls that ring in the New Year. Anyone managing to eat all the grapes is ensured good luck and happiness throughout the year. In recent years many Majorcans have taken to congregating in the main squares of their villages and towns, wherever there is a clock, to welcome the arrival of the New Year. So come along and join the citizens of Palma ushering in the New Year in the Plaça de Cort, next to the Town Hall.

At Hotel Pabisa Bali, which stays open all year round, we have prepared exquisite Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve Dinner Menus, specially designed to help you enjoy your Christmas in Majorca to the full. Prior to dinner on both nights you are warmly invited to the hotel lobby to enjoy a Christmas cocktail in the company of the other guests; afterwards come along to our great party with the best in live music.