Els Enfarinatas

Each 28th December in Ibi, in the province of Alicante (Spain), the so-called “Floured’s war” takes place. It is an event in which the inhabitants dressed in military clothes are divided into two groups: one group, the "Enfarinatas" simulates a coup d’etat, while the other a sort of police force called "La Oposicio" tries to restore order . These two groups challenge each other with blows of flour, eggs, water, firecrackers and coloured smoke bombs. The festival has existed for 200 years (the festival was revived in 1981 after long lying dormant) and is part of the celebrations linked to the day of the massacre of innocents, when Herod, King of Judea, ordered to kill each baby in order to find Jesus. It starts at 8 in the morning when the Enfarinatas invade the city, conquer it and elect a Mayor who sets new (ridiculous) laws to be respected all day. The Enfarinatas also collect fines from those who break the new "laws", but then donate the money to charity when the event is over.