Swallows Return to Capistrano
The "Swallows Return to Capistrano" is a celebrated event marking the arrival of swallows to San Juan Capistrano, California, around March 19 each year. This date coincides with the Feast of St. Joseph and has become a symbol of spring and renewal for the local community. The tradition dates back to the founding of the San Juan Capistrano mission in 1776 by Father Junípero Serra, which is renowned for its historical significance and beauty. Each spring, flocks of swallows migrate from the south to nest in the cliffs and mission buildings, raising their young before departing for warmer climates in the winter.
Over the years, the return of the swallows has evolved into a festive occasion celebrated with a variety of cultural events, including craft exhibits and food, highlighting the area's rich Native American and Spanish colonial heritage. Although the swallows do not always return on the exact date of March 19, the event has become an important cultural marker in the community. Additionally, the phenomenon has been popularized in American culture through the 1939 song "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano" by Leon Rene, further solidifying its place in local and national tradition.
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Swallows Return to Capistrano
Swallows Return to Capistrano
March 19 marks the traditional anniversary of an event associated with the Spanish mission of San Juan Capistrano in California, founded on November 1, 1776, by Father Junípero Serra. At the time California was part of the vast Spanish territory of Mexico, which included California and most of the southwestern United States, and Franciscan friars were active in establishing missions and communities of converts. Located midway between modern-day Los Angeles and San Diego, San Juan Capistrano was known as the “jewel of the missions” because of its size and importance. From the very beginning, residents of the area had noticed that flocks of swallows came from the south every spring to make their nests in the cliffs and hollows of the region. With the establishment of the mission, the birds also began to nest under the overhangs and archways of various buildings on the mission grounds. After raising their hatchlings, the swallows would depart at the onset of winter for warmer lands to the south, and then return next spring to continue the cycle.
The mission changed hands several times as the territory was ceded from Spain to Mexico to the United States, but in 1865 President Abraham Lincoln returned the mission to the church authorities. Over the following decades, as the number of settlers increased, the return of the swallows became an occasion for celebration, marking the beginning of spring. March 19 became the traditional day for honoring the swallows' return, although in fact they do not always return on that
exact day, just sometime around that date. However, the already-established Feast of St. Joseph offered a convenient date for festivities as well as a connection with the historic mission. Today the mission hosts an annual Swallows Day fiesta on its grounds, with traditional American Indian and Spanish colonial craft exhibits in addition to various types of food and entertainments. The return of the swallows was also immortalized in a popular song, “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano” (1939) by Leon Rene.