A visit from Olentzero

Trip Start Sep 17, 2008
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Trip End Jun 04, 2009


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Where I stayed
Duff's Appartment
(Hernani hotels)

Flag of Spain and Canary Islands  , Basque,
Sunday, December 28, 2008

This year our Christmas was unique from all of the others - not only because we are in Spain and weren't able to celebrate with our family, but because we were able to experience Christmas as the Basque people celebrate it.  For our Christmas break, we decided to take an overnight bus up to the Basque country in northern Spain to spend the holidays with our friend from college who is living there for three months.  The Basque country is different from every other part of Spain and has the most diverse and beautiful scenery we have yet to see.  The Basques have their own crazy language, their own flag, traditions and a tremendous amount of Basque pride.  If they could separate from Spain and France and become their own country, there is no doubt that they would.  It comes as no surprise that they also celebrate Christmas in a different way from the rest of the country.  Instead of Santa Claus as we have in the States, or the Three Wise Men that the rest of Spain believes in, the Basque children await a character named Olentzero who wears a blue suit, smokes a pipe, and can often be found with a bottle wine in tow.  On Christmas eve,  each town celebrates by dressing up in traditional Basque clothes and dancing and singing in the streets as part of a parade.  
We were very fortunate to be invited by a local family to celebrate with them in the small town of Hernani, just outside of San Sebstian.  The people that we celebrated with are people that our friend has come to know and they treated us like one of their own.  After watching Hernani's parade and fighting the little kids for the candy and roasted chestnuts that Olentzero was throwing into the crowd, we went to our pseudo Basque family's home and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner that consisted of fish, fish soup, duck, and many other tasty and interesting foods.  We sat around the table, chatting and sharing stories (in Spanish) late into the night before getting a ride back to Megan's appartment from a family member.  Although we missed our family this Christmas, we were so lucky to be able to share it with Megan and our new Basque friends!  We will be up in the Basque country until the 3rd or 4th of January and will be writing more shortly to share our other experiences!  Happy Holidays!
The Mathesons
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