The Festivals cycle

1. The Festivals cycle Students 1º ESO IES Esteban Manuel Villegas (Nájera)

2. OurAutonomousCommunity

3. Weallstudy in Nájera, whereourschoolislocated. Butmanystudents come fromthevillagesaround Nájera: Alesanco, Anguiano, Arenzana de Abajo, Baños de Río Tobía, Tricio, Uruñuela and Villar de Torre. http://www.vallenajerilla.com/

4. The Festivals cycle We have carried out some research about the popular festivals in our villages. We have elaborated a calendar with the most important festivals. In this calendar you can see the dates of the festivals, what is celebrated and how, typical meals on those days, typical music, old sayings, etc.

5. CHRISTMAS Christmas Eve(the night of the 24th) Christmas Day25th • It’s a festival of pagan origin: Nordic Yule and Roman Saturnalia • The family gathers for a big supper on Christmas Eve (the night of the 24th) . It usually consists of cabbage, thistle and cod. Candied fruit is typical for dessert. • A big meal on the 25th is also typical. • In Romania they put up a tree, which symbolizes paradise Winter solstice We celebrate the birth of Jesus.

6. April Fool’s Day “Los Santos inocentes” December 28Th • It is a festival of pagan origin. It seems related to Fool’s Day, a mediaeval festival when jokes and pranks were played on fools and the rules were broken. • Today we play practical jokes on people. A typical joke is to stick a paper doll on the back of someone without him/her noticing Winter solstice It commemorates Herod’s massacre of all baby boys (all of them innocent creatures)

7. New Year’s Eve • In the old times, the people in villages gathered to celebrate the new year with bonfires while listening to the church clock strike 12. • In Nájera we have a kind of costume carnival and cotillions (parties where the people can have supper and then dance till late) • In Romania, they eat fish because it is an animal that moves forward (the way we want the new year to move for us). They choose fish instead of chicken because chickens are animals that move backwards and this is not suitable to welcome the new year. December 31st Winter solstice We celebrate the beginning of the new year

8. New Year Thefamilygathersfor a bigmeal. January 1st Winter solstice We celebrate the beginning of the new year

9. The Three Wise Men On the night of the fifth there is a parade in the streets. The children follow the three wise men carriages and then in the church the children collect their presents. January 6th We celebrate the three wise men, who followed the star and came to worship Jesus in the crib and give him their presents.

10. Saint Anton January 17th • In Nájera, a man riding a horse goes around street crying all the anecdotes of the town. The locals bring theirs pets to church to be blessed by the priest • In Anguiano, the children used to go from house to house asking for money. • In Tricio, the children go from house to house in the morning. The neighbours give them food or money and they prepare a big supper for all the children. Theysing a popular songthatgoeslikethis: “San Antón, ton, la gallina pon y si no, que se te muerael lechón” . This can be translated like this: “San Anton, ton, give away your chicken or else your piglet will die.” This song urges the neigbours to give away their best products for the supper, their chickens, for example. If the neigbours are mean, they pray Saint Anton to make their piglets die. • Veinte de Enero, San Sebastián el primero. ¡Alto, varón, que primero es San Antón!.Literally translated as The twentieth of January, Saint Sebastian goes first. Halt, you man; Saint Anton goes first. Patron Saint of Animals

11. La Candelaria February 2nd • It has been always celebrated in Nájera and lately in Uruñuela as well. • The locals bring candles to church to be blessed by the priest. Why? The story goes that electricians believed that if a candle went out during the ceremony, the year would not be good for the holder. • In Uruñuela, they have a procession and a mass after it. In the afternoon hot chocolate and torrijas (some sort of French toast) are offered to everyone in the square. Then they dance to some modern music played by a disc jockey. Saint Patron of electricians

12. San Blas February3rd • The “rosquillas” are blessed by the priest. Rosquillas are a sort of sweet bagels and the reasons why they get blessed is because they are thought to protect your throat when you eat them. • Por San Blas, la cigüeña verás. Y si no la vieres, año de nieves (mal año tuvieres).Literally translated as by San Blas, you will see the stork. And if you don’t see it, then the winter will be long and snowy (so the year will be bad for the people). This jingle means that by this time of the year the storks will come back from their migration to Africa to spend the winter. Why? because the spring, thus the good weather, will soon start. But if they fail to appear, then the winter will be too long.

13. Santa Águeda. Los Quintos February5th • On this day, women take over the reins of their towns and villages, including the Town Council, and they act as mayors. They make the decisions this day. • The “quintos” are all the men born in the same year and who were called together to serve the army when the military service was compulsory in Spain. They gather together every year and have supper together. In the old times, they also attended mass together. • It is still celebrated in Baños. Young people (boys and girls) do it too (even when they, of course, were never called to serve the army). They dress in military costumes and go from house to house asking for money so that they can pay for a big supper together. Sometimes they are not given money but something to eat in each house.

14. Thursday Lardero It was the last Thursday when it was allowed to eat meat before Lent. The dates varyaccordingtoLent.

15. Carnival • It is held before Lent and Easter and celebrates the life and joy previous to the Passion of Christ. • There are fancy dress parties and contests, dances, and lots of joy and laughter in the streets. • It was forbidden by the church during Franco’s dictatorship. The dates varyaccording to Lent. Fortydaysbefore Palm Sunday. (FortysevenbeforeEaster )

16. Easter • There are processions in every village, town and city. • In Nájera, the different religious brotherhoods invited the locals to some pastries. • On Resurrection Sunday, the young males offered bunches of flowers to the maids and they put up a tree in the centre of the town. The dates vary every year. The first Sunday after the first Spring Moon is Resurrection Sunday.

17. Mărţişor (Romania) Women wear a bracelet made of white and read braided threads for 8 days to celebrate the start of a new Spring. March 1st We celebrate the spring equinox

18. Saint Joseph March 19th • A mass was celebrated • It is Father’s Day. The custom is to give fathers a gift. He is the Saint Patron of carpenters

19. San Prudencio • Manyevents are held: mass, procession, music and dances in thestreet, fireworks, gamesforchildren, … • San Prudenciomeón; this iswhat locals call Saint Prudencio: Peeing Saint Prudencio. April 28th Patronal festival Saint Patron of Nájera

20. Festival of theromans In TricioitiscelebratedthatTriciowas a Romantown: TritiumMegallum. Triciosuppliedterrasigilatatomaketheemperor’scrockery. Wehavethechurch and the open hermitage. Thereis a trainthatridesalongthevillage and stops at theRomansites, themuseum , etc. There are paradeswithvillagers in Romancostumes.. Lastweekend of April Local historicalcommemoration: wecelebrateTheimportance of Tricio in theRoman times.

21. 1st of May • Nájera celebrates the proclamation of Fernando III as king by an oak that existed there. There is a reading in the street at the monolith that points the exact place and there is a performance of the coronation of the king. The land along the Paseo (the Passage), which once belonged to Tricio, is symbolically reclaimed for Nájera. • There is a mediaeval fair. May 1st Local historicalcommemoration and tradefair.

22. San Isidro Thefields are blessedbythepriest. Thevillagershave lunch together and thenthereis a procession. In theold times therewasmusic and dancing in thestreet. May 15th Saint Patron of farmers Mass and procession

23. Virgin of May • Tricio. Mass and procession: TheHolyVirginishonoredwithflowers. • Arenzana. Mass and procession in theVirgin of El Carmen hermitage. Potmass (Misa de olla). In theold times thetwovirgins of el Carmen whereswappedfromthechurchtothehermitage and viceversa. Todaythisisnotpossibleduetothebadcondition of theoldhermitage. May 7th

24. Trekking up theSerradero FirstSaturday of May Arenzana: Trekking up theSerradero and bigmealthere. In everyvillagefrom de Serradero Mountain

25. Corpus Christi The children who have already had the Holy Communion go out in a procession. There are little altars put up in different parts of the village and the procession stops at each one of them: the priest raises the “body” of Christ in front of each altar and the children throw flowers at it. Sixty days after Easter We celebrate the exaltation of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharisty

26. Dance festival (Romania) For three days young couples (and others not so young) enjoy themsekves dancing in the streets. It is delightful for the souls of the dancers and for the eyes of the spectators. May 30th

27. La Rioja´sday June 9th We celebrate the establishment of our Autonomous Community.

28. Saint John Baptist: “Las vueltas” “LAS VUELTAS” in Nájera. This sort of collective dance where everyone in the town walks the streets while spinning around, is some kind of Sun worship. People have their own groups or teams (usually they wear the same clothes to differenciate from the other teams). They go down to the river for a big lunch (each group prepares their own lunch) and then they dance to the music. June 24th We celebrate the summer solstice

29. Saint Peter In Nájera, people do exactly the same as in Saint John: “Las vueltas” June 29th We celebrate the summer solstice

30. Las Santitas (Navarrete) • All potters have a big dinner together and attend mass. • NACE Fair: It is celebrated on the closest weekend to 19th of July. There is a big exhibition of pottery; important potters from all over Spain come to the event. Some exhibits are really interesting and there is a contest to award the best piece. July 19th We celebrate the festival of the Saint Patron of Potters

31. Saint Ilie (Romania) Saint Ilie brings the rain to the village. There is a mass to ask him for rain to prevent draught. July 21st They honour this Saint, who is the guardian of crops

32. La Magdalena (Anguiano) This festival, celebrated to honour Saint Magdalena, is one of the most popular in La Rioja. People from all over the world come to see the famous dancers who, in their colourful costumes and tall stilts, run down a very steep street of the village while spinning around themselves. The speed they get is amazing and they are held at the bottom in the arms of the crowd gathered there to see them. July 22nd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otrq3G2G9LQ

33. Apostle Santiago • Navarrete: In the old times there were young bull runs in the streets. • Alesanco: mass and procession. • Baños de Río Tobía: It is not celebrated anymore. In the past, there was a mass for the whole village and then the people went down to the river to have lunch. July 25th Saint Patron of Spain

34. La patata brava (Villar de Torre) The whole village, and people from the surrounding villages, are invited to a small lunch consisting of patatasbravas (spicy potatoes). Last Sunday of August

35. San Juan Mártir y Santa María la Real(Nájera) September 15th to 18th We celebrate autumn equinox • There are masses, processions, “pelota” matches, music in the main square and lots of other activities and events. • Paellas Day (18th): The teams who took part in the Festivals of Saint John and Saint Peter enter a competition where the best paella will win. Of course all the paellas are eaten and then there are games and music to entertain the people.

36. San Mateo and Los Parrales (Baños de Río Tobía) • It starts with the chorizo festival (September 16th), a small lunch consisting of chorizo preñado (some sort of stuffed sausage) and wine is offered to the villagers. In the old times a pig was killed to be auctioned. • This is the most important festival in Baños. There are masses, processions, fairs, dances, “pelota” matches, and lots of other activities and events. September 21st to 28th We celebrate autumn equinox

37. Thanks giving • In Anguiano, Baños and Villar de Torre there is a mass to thank for the crops and the good year. • Anguiano: There is a pilgrimage up to the hermitage. They take the Virgin to the hermitage for the winter while the dancers accompany the parade. • In Villar the Torre it is typical to have turkey for dinner. By the end of September We celebrate autumn equinox

38. Saint Miguel’s Fair (Nájera) September 29th It is an exhibition of tractors, cars, and machinery to work the fields. The different groups of friends of the town in their distinctive outfits gather together to cook big pots of stew.

39. Thanks giving • In Anguiano, Baños and Villar de Torre there is a mass to thank for the crops and the good year. • Anguiano: There is a pilgrimage up to the hermitage. They take the Virgin to the hermitage for the winter while the dancers accompany the parade. • In Villar the Torre it is typical to have turkey for dinner. By the end of September We celebrate autumn equinox

40. All Saints’ Day • People attend mass and go to the cemetery to honour the memory of their dead and loved ones. • Villar de Torre: Las ánimas (The souls day. November 2nd). People give and get support for the pain over the dead loved ones who were grieved the day before. October 31st/November 1st

41. Inmaculada Concepción • Baños de Río Tobía: People attend mass November 2nd