Riding through fire to purify: Las Luminarias

On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, dozens ride their horses through the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the "Luminarias," a tradition that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires and protect them for the year to come.

A horseman rides through a bonfire in the village of San Bartolome de Pinares in the province of Avila, Spain, Jan. 16, 2022.

San Bartolome de Pinares, the full name of the small town in Avila, Spain, has a population of just 599 inhabitants.

They annually celebrate in the early morning of Jan. 16 the festivities known as the 'Luminarias' in honor of San Antonio Abad, patron saint of animals.

The festival consists of the spreading of about thirty bonfires throughout the town.

The fire is crossed by almost 300 neighbors with their donkeys or horses at full speed in order to purify their animals...

and to deprive them of diseases throughout the year.

A man rides a horse through the flames of a bonfire during the 'Luminarias' celebration in San Bartolome de Pinares near Avila, Spain, Jan. 16, 2022.

A white horse riding through the fire, Jan. 16, 2022.

A man rides a horse through a bonfire as part of a ritual in honor of Saint Anthony the Abbot, the patron saint of domestic animals, in San Bartolome de Pinares, Spain, Jan. 16, 2022.

A man rides a horse through the flames of a bonfire during the "Luminarias" celebration in San Bartolome de Pinares near Avila, Spain, Jan. 16, 2022.

A man rides a horse through the flames of a bonfire, Jan. 16, 2022.

A rider and his horse ride through the fire, Jan. 16, 2022.

A man cleans a horse in a stable before the annual "Luminarias" celebration on the eve of Saint Anthony's day, Jan. 16, 2022.

A person prepares a bonfire during the Luminarias festivities, Jan. 16, 2022.

Several horses in the festivities of the Luminarias, Jan. 16, 2022.

A horseman rides through a bonfire in the village of San Bartolome de Pinares in the province of Avila in central Spain, during the traditional religious festival of "Las Luminarias" in honor of San Antonio Abad (Saint Anthony), patron saint of animals, on Jan. 16, 2022.

Several horses in the festivities of the Luminarias, Jan. 16, 2022.

A rider goes through flames during the annual "Luminarias" celebration, Jan. 16, 2022.

A rider and his horse in front of the flames, Jan. 16, 2022.

A horse rides through the bonfire, Jan. 16, 2022.

The pair rushes through the flames, Jan. 16, 2022.

The horse and its rider gallop through the fire, Jan. 16, 2022.

A person halts their horse after riding through the fire, Jan. 16, 2022.

A person rides through the fire with their horse, Jan. 16, 2022.