Stealing flowerpots at Easter: the most curious tradition in Malaga's Axarquía

Once the processions are finished the flowerpots are returned to their owners on the same day. In many cases it is the young people themselves who are responsible for returning them and they even make the gesture of giving some coins to the children who take part. In this way, what begins as a collective joke ends up reinforcing the neighbourly and shared nature of a custom that is based, above all, on trust between those who keep it alive.

Municipal ordinance

In February, the Town Hall published a proclamation calling for moderation, after detecting that some flowerpots were being removed too early, "which caused nuisance among neighbours and the deterioration of many plants" before they were used.

The town hall insists that this practice should be maintained with respect. For this reason, it asks people not to remove flower pots too early and to respect private property and if necessary, to agree beforehand on the use of the pots intended for the garden. Despite these adjustments, the original spirit is maintained and the plants are returned to their owners on the same day.

Although the Easter Sunday garden is also celebrated in other municipalities, the peculiar "theft" of flowerpots is a hallmark of Moclinejo. A custom that mixes play, neighbourly collaboration and intangible heritage, and that every spring turns this small village in the Axarquia into a unique place.