Christianity and traditional celebrations
Most Spaniards are Catholics, at least by tradition if not by confession, and when it comes to religion, the Balearics behave in much the same way as their peninsular counterparts. Customs are changing, however, and church pews are increasingly empty, especially at Sunday mass. In fact, a good quarter of Spaniards declare themselves to be atheists, and opportunities to go to church are limited to celebrations such as weddings, funerals and christenings, which in many ways are more social than religious gatherings. However, Catholicism continues to play a decisive role in the running of the year. Indeed, in addition to the many religious holidays that punctuate the calendar, the Cavalcada dels Reis d'Orient (Feast of the Kings, early January) and the Setmana Santa (Easter week) are moments of genuine religious fervor. In Ciutadella in particular, the Easter processions are impressive! The island's towns and villages also celebrate their patronal feasts with great pomp and ceremony every year: these are important occasions when young and old alike gather in the public space to pay homage to their local patron saint in a spirit of good-natured festivity.
For example, Sant Joan Ciutadella is celebrated on June 23 and 24, the Virgin del Carme (protector of fishermen) is honored in all Balearic ports on July 16 (and even at sea), and Maó praises the Mare de Déu de Gràcia on September 7 and 8. A dozen religious celebrations punctuate the passage of the Menorcan summer season, beginning with the Sant Joan jaleo in Ciutadella on June 23/24.
Pre-Christian cultures
Before the arrival of Christianity, however, the island was inhabited by various civilizations with their own belief systems, leaving behind a number of vestiges. The most remarkable and mysterious, but also the oldest, are certainly the megalithic monuments dating from the Talayotic era (2nd century BC) that dot the territory and whose meaning is still unknown. This breathtaking collection of megalithic constructions, probably erected over 2,000 years ago and numbering around 1,600 elements, was added to the World Heritage List in 2023. For historians and archaeologists, the role played by these navetes - piles of stones built without cement or mortar - remains a mystery. Human bones discovered in the burial chamber of the Naveta d'Es Tudons (the largest and best preserved on the island, located in the western part of Menorca, a few kilometers from Ciutadella), but also in other areas of the island, suggest that they were funerary monuments. But the buildings most resistant to any interpretation remain the taules, colossal structures made of a vertical pillar topped by a huge stone arranged horizontally in the shape of a "T" found only in Menorca (around thirty in all). Are they the pedestals of ancient consecrated sacrificial sites, or the remains of the foundations of more imposing constructions? No definitive explanation has yet been put forward.
