Numerous festivals are held on the island throughout the year, some of they are of a local nature and involve only those who live in the town, others all the towns in the municipality, and some of them are celebrated throughout the island. An example of this party is the one celebrated in  Mancha Blanca, in the municipality of Tinajo, every September 15 in honor of the Virgen de los Dolores or the Volcanoes. Pilgrims come to the town from other islands of the archipelago, dressed in typical Lanzarote costumes, becoming for a few days the center of traditional Canarian culture. 

In the month of July, festivities in honor of the Virgen del Carmen are celebrated in several coastal towns on the island. During the ceremony a procession carries an image of the Virgin through the streets before being taken aboard a fishing boat in the port. Other important municipal festivities are the celebration of the Virgen de los Remedios in Yaiza, held in September, and the festivities of San Juan, in Haría, which the islanders celebrate spontaneously with bonfires and night baths;

During the carnival that usually takes place the last week of February, a large procession of well-dressed people runs through the streets of Arrecife and the avenue of the beaches in Puerto del Carmen, accompanied by numerous tourists that join the dances and the party throughout the island.

The celebration of Corpus Christi in the month of June is one of the most important festivals on the island. In the Canary Islands it is common for beautiful carpets of flowers to be made in front of churches, but since the rains are scarce in Lanzarote, it is not common to find flowers, which is why the inhabitants of the island make carpets of salt dyed in colors, as beautiful as if they were carpets of flowers. This is a custom of this island.

In each town on the island, patron saint festivities and pilgrimages are celebrated throughout the year, although most are celebrated in summer, the great period festive par excellence. The most outstanding are found in the coastal towns of Punta Mujeres, Arrieta, Caleta de Famara or La Santa, where the large number of residents in these towns during the summer makes them very lively parties.

In Arrecife, the San Ginés festivities are celebrated on August 25. One of the most important in Lanzarote, attracting people from all over the island for 2 weeks attracted by the numerous sports competitions, musical performances... that are held.

However, the Pilgrimage in honor of the Virgen de los Dolores or de los Volcanes, in Mancha Blanca, is probably the most important festive moment of the year in Lanzarote, reaching several tens of thousands of people each year. The pilgrims who come to Mancha Blanca from all over the island do so on foot and dressed in the typical clothes of Lanzarote, with the typical folk music of the island being present all the way.

Virgen del Carmen

A moment of great importance in the coastal towns with a fishing tradition is the Festival of the Virgen del Carmen, patron saint of sailors.

Although it is celebrated on July 16, the festival is celebrated on different dates to avoid coincidences in Arrieta, Valterra (in Arrecife), La Santa, Puerto del Carmen and Playa Blanca.

Calendar of Patron Saint Festival

January
El Mojón: San Sebastian	20 January
February
Tabayesco, Tías: Our Lady of Candelaria	February 2
Guinate: Our Lady of Lourdes.	Sunday closest to February 11
March
Teguise: San Leandro.	13 March
April
May
Titerroy: San Jose Obrero	1 May
Munique: Ntra. Mrs. of Fatima and San Isidro	May 13 and 15
Uga: San Isidro	May 15
Tao: St. Rita	May 22
Montaña Blanca, Argana Alta:: Mary Help of Christians	24 May
June
La Asomada: San Jose.	1º or 2nd Sunday. of June
Tias, Güime, Los Valles: San Antonio	June 13
Las Breñas: San Luis Gonzaga	21 June
San Gines Church: Corpus Christi carpets.	Saturday following June 22
La Santa, Soo, Los Alonso, Haría: San Juan	24 June
Maguez, Mácher: San Pedro	June 29
July
Haria: The Christ of Thirst	1 July
Bad: Maria Auxiliadora	1 July
La Vegueta: Ntra. Mrs. of Rule.	2 July
Femés: San Marcial	7 July
Valterra, Arrieta, Teguise, Playa Blanca, La Graciosa, Puerto del Carmen, La Santa: Our Lady of Carmen	Variable date. July 16
La Graciosa: Saint Francis of Assisi	Sunday closer. July 16
Guatiza: St. Daisy	July 20
Masdache: Sta. Maria Magdalena	July 22
Tegoyo and Conil: Sgdo. Heart of Jesus	July 25
Tahiche: Santiago and Santa Ana	July 25 and 26
August
Risco de Famara: Our Lady of Las Nieves	5 August
Mozaga: Our Lady of the Rock.	2nd; Sunday in August
La Tiñosa: Our Lady of Carmen	2nd; Sunday in August
La Geria: Ntra. Mrs. of Charity	August 15
Tinajo: San Roque.	August 16
Nazareth: Our Lady of Nazareth	Sunday following August 15
Honda Beach: Sta. Elena	August 18
Hária: Our Lady of Lima	23 August
Saint Bartholomew: Saint Bartholomew	August 24
Reef: San Ginés	August 25
Orzola: Santa Rosa de Lima	Last Sunday in August
September
Caleta de Famara: Sgdo. Heart of Mary.	First Sunday of September
Punta Mujeres: Our Lady of Pino	September 8
Teguise: Our Lady of Guadalupe	September 8
Yaiza: Ntra. Mrs. of Remedies.	September 8
Tiagua: Our Lady of Socorro	9 September
Guatiza: The Christ of the Waters	14 September
White Spot: Virgin of Sorrows	15 September
Tinasoria: San Gennaro	September 19
Bad: Virgin of Mercy	24 September
Tao: Saint Michael	September 29
October
The Valleys: Ntra. Mrs. del Rosario.	October 4th
Teguise: San Rafael.	October 4th
Teseguite: Our Lady of Rosario.	2nd; October Sunday
Low Argana: Chaxiraxi	October 12
Altavista: San Antonio Mª Claret	October 24
November
The Valleys: Sta. Catalina	25 November
Drive: Our Lady of the Miraculous	27 November
Tao: Saint Andrew	30 November
December
Saint Francis Xavier, Yé: Saint Francis Xavier	3 December
Máguez: St. Barbara	December 4th
La Vega: Sta. Maria de la Vega	8 December
Mozaga: St. Lucia	December 13
Soo: Saint John the Evangelist	27 December

Christmas is one of the most important moments since they celebrate the Ranchos, an ancient tradition that arrived after the conquest and that preserves in Lanzarote some of the best exponents of the Canary Islands.

It goes back to the Ranchos de Ánimas that begged through the streets during throughout the year to collect funds for prayers for the souls of the departed. Later, the Ranch disassociated itself from the Brotherhood of Souls and limited itself to participating in the Misas de Luz, held between December 16 and 24 at dawn.

El Rancho de Pascua de Teguise is, perhaps, the most famous of the island, although later they appeared in Femés (with Los Ranchos de Posada) and Haría, and later in San Bartolomé, Tías, and Tinajo, as well as in towns such as Tiagua, Tao, La Vegueta, Guatiza, etc.

Currently, the Rancho de Pascua de Teguise participates only on the night of December 24. The Ranch has 4 parts:

• El Corrido is an initial song that symbolizes the march of the shepherds toward Bethlehem.
• The Salto is the dance of the shepherds that is part of the worship ceremony and the Besapié. Its particularity is that it does not turn its back on the figure of Jesus, being the only one in the Canary Islands that is done in this way.
• Las Desechas are the religious songs that combine the soloists (singers of “alante”) and the choir (Tercios) and are performed in the church before the Besapié.
• Las Pascuas are farewell songs that combine solos and choirs that describe the birth, they are happy and lively music but with a liturgical and monotonous background.

The rest of Ranchos de Lanzarote follows its distinct guidelines, for example, that of Femés has the peculiarity of reflecting the episode recounted in the New Testament, according to which the parents of Jesus of Nazareth did not find refuge in Bethlehem before his birth. In this way, and like other ranches such as San Bartolomé, unfolded in the street, singing and entering the houses, where the components of the Ranch tasted the products elaborated by the families.

Rhythm, color, self-confidence, and, of course, a lot of entertainment currently bring together a multitude of people every year to live this party, in which there are no limits and there is only one obligation: have fun.

However, the Lanzarote carnivals also stand out for being a party linked to beliefs and activities of the past. Excellent opportunities to see those ties can be found at:

• Carnivals in Villa de Teguise, where we can enjoy the Diabletes, one of the most genuine manifestations of Canarian traditions, a mixture of aboriginal, Castilian, and Moorish beliefs. The Diabletes, dressed in clothes painted with red or black rhombuses, and with the mixed devil and bull masks, run through Teguise with sheepskin, sticks, ropes, and goatskin bags throughout the entire Carnival, brightening up the festivities even more with greater popular participation.
• The Carnivals in Arrecife, with the Buches, swollen fish bladders carried by sailors in costume and used to "beat" those they met in the streets. Today this tradition is maintained through the Parranda Los Buches, which performs both on stage and in the streets.