New Year’s Eve

Curiously, since 1995 this celebration has taken place on the first Saturday in August. This is due to the blackout that occurred on New Year’s Eve in 1994, which forced the local residents to consume the traditional 12 grapes by candlelight. It was not the first blackout to happen in the village, as the electrical supply had been faulty for some time. However, this blackout occurred at an extremely inconvenient time and caused many local businesses and establishments to suffer significant financial losses. Sick of the situation, the residents held a meeting to discuss the matter, and a local businessmen suggested – as a joke – that “we’ll have to celebrate New Year’s Eve in August!” A journalist who was present at the meeting challenged the residents and told them they wouldn’t be capable of such a move. His words had such an effect that the residents decided to put the idea into practice. Initially, the aim was to draw attention to the power supply issue and get the power company to offer the village a solution. However, the residents could not have imagined the impact their celebration would have. From that moment on, the festival has remained a fixture on Bérchules’s calendar. It has all of the ingredients of a proper winter festival: the residents set up nativity scenes throughout the village and consume grapes, champagne, shortbread, nougat and anisette; there is fake snow, a Three Kings parade, and carol-singing… in short, a diverse mix of elements that resulted in the celebration being declared a Festival of Tourist Interest by the Government of Andalusia in September 2020.