Thursday 1 December 2011

News, numbers and gossip from Santiago

A passing pilgrim wonders what is being built in the Plaza Qunitana
Santiago is beside itself with excitement. The sounds of Christmas coming are in the air and the Plaza Quintana has taken on a Times Square atmosphere. For the first time the ice skating rink which was set up in the Area Central which is anything but central is now in the heart of the Old Town. The place is buzzing and yesterday people were peering through the windows to see the rehearsal for today's opening.
The ice rink will be open for two months until 10pm. School children will be admitted for 3.50€ and adults 6.50€.
Record breaking pilgrim numbers
The other big news is that the number of pilgrims continues to break all known records. Over many years the spike in numbers during a Holy Year were never matched in the years in between - when the Feast of St James does not fall on a Sunday. That's been the pattern. Until this year. During the last month for the first time ever the number of pilgrims who arrived during the Holy Year 2004 (179,994) has been exceeded in a normal year. By yesterday 181,789 pilgrims have arrived since 1st January 2011.  The full analysis of the numbers comes at the end of this post: see below.

Christmas Lights
The Christmas lights in this Cathedral city where the restrictions of Advent are still observed will be turned on on 17th December.

High Speed Train Link
The AVE service between Ourense - Santiago - A Coruna will open on 10 December. The travel time from Santiago to A Coruna will be cut to 28 minutes. The may help pilgrims who wish to travel in or out of A Coruna airport.

Cirque du Soleil
This show returns to Santiago between 7 - 11 December with 55 artists from 17 different countries. Tickets were sold out with hours of being available.
End of the 800 Anniversary of the Cathedral

Many people here in Galcia believe that the Feast of the Translación is  as important, if not more so that the Feast of St James held on 25th July. The Feast of the Translación which commemorates the transportation of St James' body to Galicia is to be held on 30 December and will mark the end of the Anniversary Year. The processions and Mass are spectacular with the armed forces of Spain on parade with senior representatives of the Royal Family and the political classes.
This is one of the ceremonies during the year when the botafumeiro is used for its liturgical purpose at the beginning of the Mass.

Numbers, numbers, numbers
During the month of November 1661 pilgrims arrived in Santiago. The total for the period 1 January to 30 November 2011 is 181,789.
The full analysis follows:

Spain
96771 (53,23%)
Germany
16574 (9,12%)
Italia
12119 (6,67%)
Portugal
8580 (4,72%)
France
8143 (4,48%)
United States
3733 (2,05%)
Ireland
2655 (1,46%)
United Kingdom
2366 (1,30%)
Holand
2348 (1,29%)
Canadá
2337 (1,29%)
Brasil
1951 (1,07%)
Austria
1847 (1,02%)
Poland
1807 (0,99%)
Corea
1692 (0,93%)
Belgica
1665 (0,92%)
Denmark
1639 (0,90%)
Australia
1389 (0,76%)
Sweden
1238 (0,68%)
Swizerland
1203 (0,66%)
México
1180 (0,65%)
República Checa
962 (0,53%)
Norway
908 (0,50%)
Japón
858 (0,47%)
Hungría
765 (0,42%)
Argentina
705 (0,39%)
Finlandia
648 (0,36%)
Eslovaquia
568 (0,31%)
Eslovenia
547 (0,30%)
South Africa
510 (0,28%)
Venezuela
431 (0,24%)
Colombia
417 (0,23%)
Russia
242 (0,13%)
Nueva Zelanda
236 (0,13%)
Rumania
201 (0,11%)
Chile
188 (0,10%)
Ecuador
173 (0,10%)
Uruguay
167 (0,09%)
Perú
147 (0,08%)
Israel
130 (0,07%)
Lituania
115 (0,06%)
China
108 (0,06%)


Gender
Nº de Peregrinos
Male
104874 (57,69%)
Female
76915 (42,31%)
Method of travel
Nº de Peregrinos
On foot
151817 (83,51%)
Bicycle
29516 (16,24%)
Horse
427 (0,23%)
Wheelchair
29 (0,02%)

Motivation
Nº de Peregrinos
Religious  or spiritual reasons
91614 (50,40%)
Religious
78971 (43,44%)
Not religious or spiritual
11204 (6,16%)

Finisterra
71 (0,04%)
Grandas de Salime
69 (0,04%)
Molinaseca
67 (0,04%)
Canfranc
64 (0,04%)
Granada
62 (0,03%)
Fonsagrada
61 (0,03%)
Rábade
59 (0,03%)
Italia
58 (0,03%)
Cast. la Mancha
57 (0,03%)
Com. Valenciana
57 (0,03%)
París
56 (0,03%)
Castilla La Mancha
55 (0,03%)
Castilla la Mancha
49 (0,03%)
Tineo
49 (0,03%)
Allariz
48 (0,03%)
Cadavo
48 (0,03%)
La Rioja
48 (0,03%)
Malaga
43 (0,02%)
Valladolid
40 (0,02%)
Huelva
38 (0,02%)
Povoa de Varzim
37 (0,02%)
Salas
36 (0,02%)
San Sebastian
35 (0,02%)
Nájera
34 (0,02%)
Benavente
34 (0,02%)
La Mesa
32 (0,02%)
Roma
32 (0,02%)
Córdoba
32 (0,02%)
Castrojeriz
30 (0,02%)
Cataluña
30 (0,02%)
Fonfría
29 (0,02%)
Badajoz
28 (0,02%)
Murcia
23 (0,01%)
A Guarda
23 (0,01%)
Ponferrada. C.Inv.
23 (0,01%)
Resto Galicia
22 (0,01%)
Vegadeo
20 (0,01%)
Polonia
17 (0,01%)
Reino Unido
16 (0,01%)
Grado
14 (0,01%)
La Rioja
13 (0,01%)
Republica Checa
12 (0,01%)
Baiona
12 (0,01%)
La Bañeza
12 (0,01%)
Vilabade
11 (0,01%)
Dinamarca
10 (0,01%)
San Juan de Ortega
10 (0,01%)
A Rúa
10 (0,01%)
Luxemburgo
8 (0,00%)
Inglaterra
6 (0,00%)
Sobrado
5 (0,00%)
Leyre
5 (0,00%)
Viveiro
4 (0,00%)
Monforte de Lemos
3 (0,00%)
Ortigueira
3 (0,00%)
Hungría
3 (0,00%)
Valcarlos
3 (0,00%)
Pontedeume
3 (0,00%)
Covelo
2 (0,00%)
Andorra
2 (0,00%)
Finlandia
2 (0,00%)
Gonzar
2 (0,00%)
United Kingdom
2 (0,00%)
Quiroga
2 (0,00%)
Egipto
2 (0,00%)
Jerusalem
1 (0,00%)
Cea
1 (0,00%)
Irlanda
1 (0,00%)
Mella
1 (0,00%)
Artieda
1 (0,00%)
Guntín
1 (0,00%)
Irlanda
1 (0,00%)
Grecia
1 (0,00%)
Peñaseita
1 (0,00%)
Petín
1 (0,00%)




Employment status
Nº de Peregrinos
Employed
44080 (24,25%)
Students
31634 (17,40%)
Technicians
24908 (13,70%)
Retired
20309 (11,17%)
Self employed
18325 (10,08%)
Teachers
13714 (7,54%)
Civil servants
9345 (5,14%)
Manual workers
6300 (3,47%)
Unemployed
4091 (2,25%)
Housewives
3977 (2,19%)
Artists
1522 (0,84%)
Executives
1379 (0,76%)
Priests
815 (0,45%)
Farmworkers
570 (0,31%)
Religious
441 (0,24%)
Sailors
226 (0,12%)
Sportspeople
113 (0,06%)
Oikoten
40 (0,02%)

Ages
Nº de Peregrinos
30 - 60
104631 (57,56%)
< 30
51732 (28,46%)
> 60
25426 (13,99%)

Routes travelled
Nº de Peregrinos
Frances-Camino de
131696 (72,44%)
Portugues-Camino
21850 (12,02%)
Norte-Camino de
11846 (6,52%)
Via de la Plata
7953 (4,37%)
Primitivo-Camino
5177 (2,85%)
Ingles-Camino
2678 (1,47%)
Otros caminos
388 (0,21%)
Muxia-Finisterre
201 (0,11%)


5 comments:

  1. Thanks for the wonderful breakdown of the people who walk camino routes. Very interesting.
    Dee Anne from Dallas TX

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with Dee Anne... The analyis information is very interesting. But it is also wonderful to note that 2011 has been exceptional for volumes of pilgrims in a "Normal" year; I wonder how much influence the film "The Way" might have had on these numbers...?
    May I suggest that a breakdown of the Nº de Peregrinos for each route travelled but by month of arrival might be of great interest too in the full year analysis?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was curious about the Botafumeiro being used at the beginning of the Mass "for its liturgical purpose." I thought it always was! Is it flown on that day during the procession in? This priest is curious...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hola

    The Botafumeiro is used at the beginning of some of the Feast Day Masses. Pilgrims usually see it when it is employed as a spectacle after the noon pilgrim's mass has ended. I hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm part of this history... walked 2011... wow... I miss it... buen camino

    ReplyDelete