Thinking of
walking in Spain or Portugal?
The Iberian Peninsula is a land rich in history,
tradition and superstition. Portugal and
Spain being “Catholic countries” share many of the same holidays and religious
festivals. There are also many legends, some based on vague
historical facts, others coloured with religious connotations. You
may wish to take these into account when planning your Camino either to avoid
them or to see them!
First of all I’d like to introduce you to some of the
festivals I’ve come across on my travels and Caminos throughout Spain and
Portugal.
“Why”, you may
ask yourself, “ do up to 300 couples get married on the same day and often in
the same ceremony on Saint Anthony’s Day in Lisbon in Portugal? “
The answer lies in the story of Saint
Anthony who was born in Lisbon. He became known as a great miracle worker and
also for his skills at reconciling couples. In Lisbon the festivities in his
honour begin on the evening of June 12 with displays of walking groups and
singers and parades and a custom is for young people to write letters on that
day asking Saint Anthony to help them find a partner. Then on the 13th ,
Saint Anthony’s Feast Day, as evidence of how effective this is traditionally
13 couples get married together with all expenses being paid by the city
council. But as happens one tradition led to another and for years on this
feast it has become the fashion for hundred of the Noivas de Santo Antonio’ (the Brides of Saint
Anthony) to get married on the same day.
At the same time the Sardine Festival
takes place and this is replicated elsewhere in Spain and Portugal in different
places and at different times. On the Feast of Saint John in Galicia the people
jump over bonfires (Oh yes they do!) and eat grilled sardines provided by local
restaurants for free. A close relative of this takes place in the South of
Spain in Malaga and Murcia and other towns when there is the Burial of the
Sardine to mark the end of the excesses of Carnival and to herald the start of
Lent. Sardines it seems are ubiquitous.
Many Hispanic festivals end when the
symbols of the excesses which have been enjoyed are ceremonially burned. There
is also at the end of Carnival the traditional Quema del Raspajo when an effigy
is burned to represent regeneration and freedom. Often this is used to poke fun
at the political order as happened in Santiago last Ash Wednesday:
Other festivals are more difficult to
understand. My favourites of these are the Baby Jumping Ceremony in the
province of Burgos and the Festival of Near Death Experiences in Galicia. Both cause
visitors to gasp in either amazement or anxiety!
Baby Jumping or El Colacho as it is known
in the Province of Burgos called Castrillo de Murcia takes place every year
around the Feast of Corpus Christi which is usually celebrated in May or June.
The tradition dates back to the 17th Century. During the ceremony men
dressed as the Devil (the Colacho) in red and yellow suits jump over babies,
born during the previous 12 months, who lie on mattresses on the ground. This is known as the jump of the devil, El
Salto del Colacho. The “devils” carry whips and castanets as the jump over the
fortunately unaware infants.
The point of the ceremony is to cleanse
the babies and drive out any evil spirits to prepare them for life. It is said
however that Pope Benedict asked local priests to distance the church from the
Jump of the Devil because the Catholic Church teaches that it is baptism and
not jumping over babies which anoints children for the Christian life. Imagine
that!
However weirdest of all in my book is the Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme, also known as the Festival of Near Death Experiences. It takes place in a small Galician village on the border with Portugal – Las Nieves, Pontevedra on the 29th July. Here if you are suffering from a grave illness and wish to pray for recovery or if you have already recovered from near death and you wish to give thanks you…rent a coffin, get inside it and your friends and relatives carry you through the village in procession before laying your before the altar in the local church where you remain during mass!
Ex Votos
Carnaval:
This is the period before the start of Lent and is a time of partying and over
indulgence.
10 June, in Portugal: Portugal Day - Dia
de Portugal.
8 December: Feast
of the Immaculate Conception - Imaculada
Conceição da Bem-Aventurada Virgem Maria/La Inmaculada Concepción.
However weirdest of all in my book is the Fiesta de Santa Marta de Ribarteme, also known as the Festival of Near Death Experiences. It takes place in a small Galician village on the border with Portugal – Las Nieves, Pontevedra on the 29th July. Here if you are suffering from a grave illness and wish to pray for recovery or if you have already recovered from near death and you wish to give thanks you…rent a coffin, get inside it and your friends and relatives carry you through the village in procession before laying your before the altar in the local church where you remain during mass!
At most of the festivals described here
there may be stalls selling everything from fresh donuts to wax body parts. Yes,
body parts. These are called Ex Votos, votive offerings to add to your prayers
for recovery from an ailment to your hand, head, leg... Strange they may seem
but they aren’t restricted to Catholicism I have seen them at Hindu temples in
India and Buddhist shrines in Japan. For me they are still strange!
So if you are passing a church as I did
the other day and you notice policemen lined up in dress uniform wearing white
gloves don’t be surprised if it is the Feast of Guardian Angels – the patrons
of the National Police. It was!
Religious
Festivals and Public Holidays
2018
These feasts and holidays are observed
in both countries except where otherwise indicated. Where the languages are
different the names are given first in Portugese then Spanish.
1 January: New Year’s Day and the Feast of
Mary, Mother of God - Santa
Maria, Mãe de Deus/Santa María, Madre de Dios.
6 January: The Epiphany - Dia de
Reis/ Día del Reyes. In Spain
this feast is celebrated as much as Christmas, and presents are often given on
this day. There are street processions and celebrations.
 |
| Three Kings Procession |
14 February: Ash Wednesday - Quarta feira de cinza/Miércoles de Ceniza, and the start of Lent - Quaresma/Cuaresma
19 March: The Feast of Saint Joseph - São
José/San José. This is when Father’s Day is celebrated in both countries.
25 March – 1 April: Holy Week - Semana
Santa, when there will be many religious services and street processions.
25 March: Palm Sunday - Domingo
de Ramos
29 March: Holy Thursday - Jueves
Santo
30 March: Good Friday - Sexta-feira
Santa/Viernes Santo
1 April: Easter Sunday - Domingo
de Páscoa/Domingo de Resurrección
25 April, in Portugal: Freedom Day - Dia da
Liberdade, celebrates the 1974 coup
d’état that ended the oppressive Estado
Nuevo government and established the Portuguese Third Republic.
1 May: Labour Day - Dia do
Trabalhador/ Fiesta del Trabajo.
6 May: Mother’s Day - Dia da Mãe/Día de la Madre.
May/June
(moveable dates):
10 May: Ascension Thursday - Ascensáo
do Senhor/Ascensión del Señor (may be celebrated on Sunday 13 May)
20 May: Pentecost - Pentecostés
31 May: Corpus Christi (may be celebrated on Sunday 3 June), with
religious street processions in many places.
 |
| Corpus Cristi Procession |
25 July: Feast of Saint James - Santiago
Apóstol, Patrón de España, Spanish
National Holiday.
15 August: Feast of the Assumption - Assunção
da Bem-Aventurada Virgem Maria/Asunción de la Virgen.
5 October, Portugal: Republic Day -
Implantação
da República, celebrates
the end of Monarchy and the beginning of the Portuguese Republic.
12 October:
Día del Pilar (Our Lady of the Pillar) – Fiesta Nacional de España|Día
de la Hispanidad (National
Day|Hispanic Day).
1 November: All Saints - Todos os Santos/Todos los Santos.
2 November: All Souls - Dia
de Finados/Todos los Difuntos.
Around these dates there may be local
church services for those who have died in the community in the last year.
1 December: Portugal Restoration of
Independence Day.
6 December: Spain Constitution Day - Día de la
Constitución.
8 December: Feast
of the Immaculate Conception - Imaculada
Conceição da Bem-Aventurada Virgem Maria/La Inmaculada Concepción.
24 December:
Christmas Eve - Véspera de Natal/Noche Buena,
when traditionally Spanish families gather together at home for a meal. Many
restaurants close.
25 December: Christmas Day - Natal do
Senhor/Natividad del Señor.
31 December: New Year’s Eve|Hogmanay - Noite de Ano Novo/Noche Vieja.
Local Festivals and holidays in Portugal and
Spain
Almost every village seems to have their own Feast or Feria, for example the Feast of the Ascension, which is the annual festival in Santiago de Compostela with street theatre, bands, orchestras and the circus comes to town.
In towns and villages all along the Camino Francés you may encounter a local festival such as:
| |||
Arzúa Cheese Festival – February/March
Bread and Cheese festival in Sahagún – April Fire water festival in Portomarín – early April O Cebreiro cheese festival – April May Festival – Festa do Maio in Villafranca del Bierzo – May San Fermin running of the bulls and the city’s most famous festival in Pamplona – July San Cristobo Festival in Palas de Rei – July Estella festival – Estella/Lizarra – early August Santa Marta festival in Astorga – end of August San Zoilo festival in Carrión de los Condes – end of August Rioja Harvest Festival in Logroño – September Romaria Virxe do Cebreiro dedicated to the patron saint of O Cebreiro – early September Fiestas de la Encina in Ponferrada, the city’s biggest annual festival – September Music Week in Melide – November
And finally
The Tomatina
If you are walking the Camino Levante and find yourself in Valencia at
the end of August head for the town of Buñol to take part in the world’s
largest tomato fight. If it is a choice between running with the bulls or
fighting with tomatoes I know which I’d choose! |
