What's On Around Alcúdia And Pollensa - Dijous Bo

Ok, Inca may be some twenty kilometres away but it is the administrative centre for the north of Mallorca, so what happens there qualifies it for inclusion in events in the north. There again, Dijous Bo is one of those occasions, like Sa Pobla's Sant Antoni in January, which is for the whole of Mallorca. It is the largest of the autumn fairs, the one with the longest history and the one which attracts thousands upon thousands of visitors as well as the whole of the local media, which dissects the attractions and typically rates the good and the less good (in its opinion). There is an awful lot to Dijous Bo. Essentially, it is a farming/agricultural fair (this element being its obvious roots from mediaeval times), but it is very much more just this.

Dijous Bo means good Thursday. Quite when the name was adopted is unknown, but there is an old expression - "quin dijous més bò" (what better Thursday) - which reflects why it did. In the fourteenth century, the fairs of Inca started, thanks to privileges granted by the Mallorcan king (Sineu was the only other town outside Palma to have similiar privileges). There were and are three fairs which all take place on successive Sundays. The fourth couldn't be on the Sunday because that was the fiesta of Santa Maria la Major. Consequently, the fair was moved to the Thursday and in doing so it created greater anticipation than the other fairs and eventually the name Dijous Bo (first actually officially documented as a name as late as 1807).

Programme in English: http://thehotguide.blogspot.com.es/2014/11/inca-dijous-bo-2014.html