Christmas in Jerez 2026: a guide to the zambombas

When are the Jerez zambombas in 2026?

2026 dates: not announced. They are set each year by a municipal decree; the 2025 one was signed on 30 September and the 2024 one on 18 October.

2025 for reference (2025 decree):

• Season: Friday 21 November to 25 December. In 2024, 22 November to 25 December (2024 decree).
• Hours: those needing no permit (family ones, licensed bars) run from 15:00 to midnight; street zambombas never past 02:00; those on terraces, until midnight.
• Busiest days: 21, 22, 28 and 29 November and 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 19, 20 and 24 December (City Council).

What is a zambomba?

A Christmas gathering where people sing carols in a circle, around a bonfire or in a courtyard, to the zambomba (a friction drum), tambourines, a brass mortar and handclaps, sharing pestiños and buñuelos (fried pastries). It starts in the afternoon and the more flamenco ones end with bulerías. It has been protected heritage (Bien de Interés Cultural) since Decree 503/2015, together with the zambomba of Arcos de la Frontera (Junta de Andalucía). For the tenth anniversary, a Zambomba BIC was held in Plaza de la Asunción from 13:00 on 13 December 2025 (City Council).

Where to go: streets, bars, flamenco clubs and the theatre

Not all of them are open to everyone (City Council):

• In the street: run by brotherhoods, flamenco clubs (peñas) and non-profit associations, with a council permit.
• In bars and tabancos: informal zambombas, no permit needed unless they hire artists with amplified sound.
• At peñas and brotherhood halls: authorised if open to the public; private ones are not advertised.
• Family zambombas: private, by invitation only.

In 2025 the main squares were Plaza de la Asunción, Alameda del Banco, Plaza Belén and Calle Doña Blanca (City Council). The heritage decree highlights the flamenco flavour of the peñas and the Santiago and San Miguel neighbourhoods.

Ticketed, confirmed for 2026 at Teatro Villamarta: Así canta Jerez en Navidad (3 to 6 December), La Zambomba de la Alegría (10 December, 20:00) and Jerez Flamenca Navidad (19 December, 17:30 and 20:30), among others (Teatro Villamarta).

When are the Christmas lights switched on in Jerez?

2026 date: not announced.

• 2025: Friday 21 November at about 19:00, at the end of Calle Larga by Alameda Cristina, with a free concert by Luis de Perikín (City Council).
• 2024: Friday 22 November at the Gallo Azul building, with more than a million lights (City Council).

Both times it fell on the first day of the zambomba season. There is no official list of lit streets; in 2025 the standout piece was the Estrella de Jerez in Plaza Belén, a 17-metre star with a music show (City Council).

Christmas market and nativity scenes

2025-2026 details for reference:

• Christmas market in Plaza del Arenal: 20 stalls of nativity figures, sweets and crafts, from 21 November to 5 January, 11:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 20:30 (Sundays and holidays 11:00 to 15:00; closed on the 25th and the 1st) (council rules).
• City Hall nativity scene: until 6 January, 11:00 to 14:00 and 17:30 to 20:30 (City Council).
• Belén Monumental on Alameda Cristina, where the Three Kings parade ends.
• Claustros de Santo Domingo: dioramas by local nativity makers, 10:30 to 13:30 and 18:00 to 21:00, closed on Mondays (City Council).
• Palacio de Villapanés: in 2025 its nativity scene opened free for the first time (City Council).

New Year's Eve in Jerez

In 2025 the council held a free party in Plaza de la Asunción, from 12:00 on the 31st to 04:00 on 1 January, with DJs, live music and a giant screen for the Canal Sur midnight chimes (City Council). The 2026 party has not been announced.

Three Kings Parade 2027: time and route

5 January 2027 is a Tuesday. Time and route not yet published.

2026 for reference: start at 16:30 from Ifeca, with 15 floats, via Parque González Hontoria, Alcalde Álvaro Domecq, Sevilla, Mamelón, Guadalete, Ponce, Porvera, Alameda Marqués de Casa Domecq, Larga, Lancería, Arenal, Corredera, Angustias, Porvenir, Diego Fernández Herrera, Santa Rafaela María, Medina, Honda and Larga to the Belén Monumental, where the Adoration takes place (City Council). There was a quiet area for autistic and disabled people in Parque González Hontoria, with prior accreditation.

Practical tips

• Traffic (2025): on zambomba days the centre (Alameda Cristina, Larga, Corredera, Porvera and others) was limited to residents, public transport and car park users, from 15:00 on Fridays and from 12:00 on Saturdays and holidays (City Council).
• Free shuttle buses (2025): from the Feria ground to Alameda Cristina and from Estadio Pedro S. Garrido to the Alcázar, Fridays, Saturdays and holidays until 20 December, from the afternoon until after midnight (timetable).
• Train: the C-1 Cercanías line links Cádiz, San Fernando, Puerto Real and El Puerto with Jerez (Renfe).
• Public holidays: in Andalusia, Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 December (Junta).
• Shops: they may open on 7, 13, 20 and 27 December 2026, but not on the 8th or 25th (Ministry of Trade). Jerez is not among the date swaps approved in June (BOJA) and its high-tourism zone for free opening hours is suspended (City Council).
• Rules: street drinking and urinating in public carry a €100 fine (City Council).