Day 4: Portomarin to Gonzar

Day 4:
The Irish lady had a fever and hot sweats and there was no way she could walk in the cold today so I got to walk with the group again, which was lovely.   

It was a long climb up from the bridge, through the forest to where the path joins the road at a brick factory. There is nowhere to stop between Portomarin and Gonzar (8km) so we enjoyed the scenery and the path  which followed the road for most of the way. The heavy rains of the last few days (months?) had made the path very muddy in parts and we did some road walking as well.
Reinette was feeling a little shaky today and could feel a migraine coming.  Janet's knee had started to hurt on the down hills: Pat felt the cold terribly but by dressing in layers she was able to brave walking with the group.

We arrived at Gonzar and all ordered hot drinks and food. David, our taxi-man came to collect us and take us back to Portomarin.

SPANISH FIESTAS AND FESTIVALS ON THE CAMINO FRANCES

 

 

Over 15 000 fiestas and festivals are held in Spanish villages and towns throughout the year. Many are religious, celebrating local saints, some are Regional and others are National events such as Semana Santa (Easter), Corpus Christi and Christmas.

Prohibited during the forty years of the Franco era Carnaval is celebrated in many Spanish towns a week before Ash Wednesday.

January

5^th January is Three Kings Day procession.  In Spain it is the kings that bring the children their presents and although the official day is on 6^th January, the Procession of the Kings takes place the night before.   The 6^th January is a National holiday and many shops are closed.

April & May 

Some of Spain’s biggest festivals take place during April and May starting with Semana Santa or Holy Week which is celebrated all over the country.  Many shops will be closed and transport is scarce.

May or June 

Corpus Christi is celebrated around Spain.  The feast is celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday so the dates change each year.

July

St James’ Feast Day – 25^th July – is celebrated in most towns and villages along the Camino.

October

12^th - Dia de la Hispanidad - Spain's national day, also known as Columbus Day

November

All Saints' Day, celebrated throughout the country. Most shops will be closed. Spanish people from all over the country return to their birthplaces to remember their deceased relatives.

December

24^th Dcember - Christmas Eve (Nochebuena), a far bigger event than Christmas Day. Expect most shops to close early on the 24th and remain closed until the morning of the 26th.

25^th December - Christmas Day - a quiet day, with most shops closed, though many bars open in the afternoon.

28^th December - Santos Inocentes, Spain's version of April Fools' Day.

31 December - New Year's Eve (Nochevieja).

 

If you are walking the Camino Frances there is a good chance that you will come across a special feast day or festival in some of the towns villages.  Most small villages have their own, special feast days or festivals and some of these don’t appear on official guides to fiestas.

If the fiesta is a popular one, you might find it difficult to secure accommodation.  During San Fermin (the Running of the Bulls) in Pamplona, rooms are almost impossible to find even in surrounding villages and the costs triple or quadruple during the festival.

Another busy time is the September Wine Harvest Festival in Navarra.  Although most of the festivities are celebrated in Logroño, rooms are booked out in neighbouring villages and you might need to book rooms ahead of time during the weeklong festival.

The Camino Frances passes through four main Regions - Navarra, la Rioja, Castilla y Leon and Galicia.  Here are some of the many fiestas held in villages and towns along the Camino.  The list is far from complete and dates might change with each year.  If you would like to add a fiesta or festival, please let me know.

NAVARRA and LA RIOJA:

In La Rioja, Spain’s most famous wine-producing region, the fiestas are generally held towards the end of September especially around the 24th on St Matthew’s Day. The most celebrated, and biggest, of these is in Logroño. Here the grape harvest is commemorated for a whole week with parades, concerts, street theatre, ball games, bull fights, fireworks and wine tasting.

 

Valcarlos : Pilgrimage of La Magdalena : April 25

Valcarlos : Bolantes Luzaide : Sunday and Easter Sunday.

Valcarlos : Santiago : July 25

Burguete : Food Fair : September

Burguete : The bonfires of San Juan : Mid-summer night

Zubiri: San Esteban : August 3

 

Pamplona : San Fermin : July 7 for a week

Pamplona : San Saturnino : November 29

Muruzabal : San Esteban : August 3

Puente la Reina : Santiago : July 25

Puente la Reina : Pitchfork fiesta : September last week

Estella: Virgin of Puy : May 15

Los Arcos : San Vicente : January 22

Viana: San Felices O De La Fundación : February

Viana:  La Virgen De Cuevas : Easter Monday

Viana: Santa María Magdalena : July 22

Viana:  Virgen de Nieva: September 7 for one week

Logrono: St Barnabas (Patron Saint) : June 11

Logrono : Wine Harvest Festival : Mid September for 7 days

Najera: San Prudencio  : April 28

Najera : San Juan y San Pedro : June 24 to 29

Najera: San Juan Mártir y

Najera: Santa María La Real  16 to 19 September

Santo Domingo de la Calzada: Santo Domingo: May 12

 

CASTILLA and LEÓN

 

Villoria : Lunes de Aguas: April 8 – 12

Belorado :  la Virgen de Belen : January 25

Belorado: San Vitores : August 25 - 26

Belorado :Accion de Gracias: September  1^st Sunday 5 days

San Juan de Ortega: Romeria Monasterio de San Juan:June 1^st Saturday

Attapuerca: Battle Navarra vs Castilla August - penultimate Sunday

Attapuerca : Festival of Accion de Gracias :August 24 & 25^th

Burgos : San Anton : January  17

Burgos : San Lesmes : Last Sunday in January

Burgos : Carnaval : February

Burgos : Burgos Carnaval : Start of Lent

Burgos : Pedro and San Pablo : July 6 for one week

Hontanas : Immaculate Conception : December 8

Castrojeriz : San Juan  : June  

Castrojeriz : Garlic festival : July  18

Castrojeriz : El Sejo : September

Boadilla : San Genaro : September 19

Fromista : San Telmo: After Easter Sunday

Fromista : The Virgen del Otero : September 8

Villacarza del Sirga : Nuestra Señora del Rio : June 8^th – 10

Villacarza del Sirga : la Virgen Blanca : August 15

 

Carrion de los Condes  : Carnaval : Before Ash Wednesday

Carrion de los Condes  : Fiestas de San Zoilo: August

Carrion de los Condes : Our Lady of Bethlehem: September 8th

Sahagun : Romeria la Virgen del Puente/San Marcos : April 25

Sahagun: San Jaun : May 31 – 3rd June

Sahagun : Corpus Christi : June 10

Sahagun : San Antonio : June 13

Sahagun : Asuncion de Nuestra Señora : August

Sahagun : Pilgrimage of Bread & Cheese : October 5

Calzada del Coto : San Roque : August 16

Calzada del Coto : San Esteban : December 26

Bercianos : St Vincent : January 21 – 24

El Burgo Ranero : San Isidro  : May 15

El Burgo Ranero : San Pedro Apóstol : June 29

Mansilla de las Mulas  : Feast of Slaughter : February 10

Mansilla de las Mulas  : Dia De Asturias : August 15

Mansilla de las Mulas  : De La Virgen De Gracia : Sunday after 8 September

Leon : Carnaval : End January/1st week February

Leon : San Juan and San Pedro : June 21

Leon : San Marcelo : October: 28

Leon : San Froilán : October 5

La Virgen del Camino  : La Virgen: September 14 - 16

La Virgen del Camino : San Miguel: September 29th

La Virgen del Camino  : San Froilán : October 5th

 

Hospital de Orbigo: Romeria of Nuestra Señora del Rio: February 3

Hospital Órbigo : Honroso: End of June

Astorga: Carnaval: February

Astorga: Virgin of Castrotierra: June

Astorga: Fiestas of Astures & Romans: Last week July

Astorga: Santa Marta: August

Astorga: Romeria of la Zuiza/ Batalla de Clavijo: Every 3 years

Astorga: Santa Martas : Last Week of August

Santa Catalina de Somoza: Festival: August 1^st week

Riego de Ambrós: Corpus Christi's

Riego de Ambrós: Mary Magdalene: July 22

 

Molinaseca: Our Lady of Sorrows: August 15 - 18

Molinaseca: Water Festival: August 17

Ponferrada: Carnaval: February

Ponferrada: Noche Templaria : Various – summer

Ponferrada: Nra. Ms. de la Encina: September 2 to 9

Camponaraya: Virgin of Solitude: 3rd Sunday of September

Cacabelos: Bendición del Pan  : February  2

Cacabelos: Easter Monday

Cacabelos: The Festival of la Quinta: April 2 – 25

Cacabelos: Harvest Festival: August : Last Sunday

Cacabelos: Carnaval

 

Villafranca del Bierzo: Santo Tirso: January 28

Villafranca del Bierzo: Fiesta do Maio: May 1

Villafranca del Bierzo : Festival of the Tourist: August – 1st Weekend       

Villafranca del Bierzo : Santísimo Cristo de la Esperanza :14 September + 3 days

Trabadelo: St Tirso & St Antonio Abad: January 28 & 29

Trabadelo: San Nicolás de Bari: December 6^th

Ambasmestas: Virgen del Carmen : July 16

Vega de Valcarce: Santa Maria Magdalena:   August 1st Sunday

Vega de Valcarce : San Roque: August 16

Ruitelán: San Froilan: October

La Faba: San Andrés

GALICIA

 

Piedrafita O Cebreiro: Holy Miracle: September 8 – 9

Triacastela : San Mamede  : August 17

Sarria: Entroido en Sarria: February 19 – 20

Sarria: Medieval: June 23 - 25

Sarria : San Juan: June 22 – 25

Sarria: Santa Barbara : August 6 – 7

Portomarin: la Feria del Aguardiente : Easter Sunday

Portomarin: Cristo das Vitorias: September 1 – 3

Palas de Rei: San Cristobal: July

Palas de Rei: Honra Ó Ecce Homo: September 14 - 15        

Melide : Feast of St. Anthony   : June 13

Melide : Festividad del Carme: July 16

Melide : San Roque: August 15 to 21

Melide : Feast of San Caralampio: September 2nd Sunday

Arzua: Carme en Arzúa: June

 

Santiago: San Lázaro : April 11

Santiago : St. James : July 25 

Corcubion: Medieval Costa da Morte :          July 21 - 23

Muxia  : Romería de Nuestra Señora de la Barca : September

Fistera : Santísimo Cristo : April  21 – 15

 

  

Sources:

http://navarra.fiestas.net/

www.turismocastillayleon.com

www.leon.es/

www.feirasdegalicia.com/feria/31568

www.laboral-social.com/calendario-laboral-nacional-comunidades-autonomas-fiestas-locales.html

Photos:  GoSpain - www.gospain.org/   www.wikipedia.com 

INTERVIEW WITH ST JAMES IN SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELLA

We are honoured and delighted to have Saint James the Greater with us today. He completed walking the camino Frances yesterday and has agreed to this exclusive interview.
As you know, St James was a disciple of Jesus Christ and one of the 12 apostles.  He was the first apostle to be martyred in Jesus’ name and the only apostle whose death is recorded in the bible.  Legend says that after he was put to death in Jerusalem, by the sword of Herod Agrippa, his body was brought to Spain in a stone boat with no sails, blown to the port of Jaffa in 7 days by angels.  He was buried here but his tomb remained undiscovered for over 800 years.  Once it was rediscovered, pilgrims started walking in ever increasing numbers from all over Europe to venerate his remains. There are many sculptures, paintings and statues of Saint James as a pilgrim but he has told us that this is actually the first time that he has walked the pilgrimage road to Santiago, although he has walked to Jerusalem on a number of occasions.

Q: Welcome to Santiago, Saint James. You have just completed walking the camino Frances from Roncesvalles to this city, named after you. Were you surprised to find so many churches, cathedrals and monuments - not to mention pilgrims - honouring your name?

A: Absolutely! I couldn’t believe the legend that has grown up around my name and feel quite humbled by all this posthumous adoration. I must say that my brother and some of the other guys are really jealous! But then I had to wait about a thousand years to be recognized.

Q: What name do you prefer, Yakhov, Iakob, Iakobos, or one of the more modern versions like Jacques or James?

A: I don’t really mind what you call me. My parents called me Iakob but some people called me Yakob. I was known as Yakov Ben-Zebedee but if you prefer James, that is fine by me.

Q: Your brother was John?

A: Yes, but his given name was Yohannan Ben-Zebedee, which we shortened to Yohn. So, John is also fine.

Q: Can we talk about your parents for a while? Your father was a fisherman and your mother was the daughter of a priest?

A: My father was named Zebedee. He and his father before him, and my brother Yohn and I were fishermen. My mother died when Yohn and I were young.

Q: She was named Salome – sister of Mary?

A: Actually no, her name was not Salome – I think that was the name of the daughter of Herodias. I’m not sure where the confusion with her name started, but I know that the tax collector – Matthew – would never have made that mistake. I’m not sure who wrote the first book but it wasn’t our Matthew, he was very meticulous. My mother’s family were Zealots. My father always told her that we got our revolutionary passion and tempers from her side of the family!

Q: Is that why you two were named Boanerges?

A: You heard about that! It’s actually a loutish name in Mishnaic Hebrew! My cousin called us that because we were often impatient and aggressive. We wanted the revolution to start, to bring in a new order and sometimes we were overly eager. Anyway, we didn't really understand that he didn't intend starting a revolution to overthrow the state. He was a different kind of saviour!

Q: How do you feel about being one of the most visited Saints in Christianity with millions coming to your tomb to be saved?

A: This is a matter of linguistics and devotion rather than theology. There were no saints in the Tanakh, only Holy men and all of them were ‘saved’. Remember, Yahweh has not spoken to man directly for thousands of years – not since the time of Job. I’m sure any good reader of scripture knows that they will not get to the father through me!!

Q: Let’s talk about Spain. There has been some controversy about whether you actually evangelized in Spain, or built a church after seeing an apparition of the Virgin. Can you tell us about that?

A: Well, the year that I was supposed to have seen her in Hispania, Mary was still alive and well in Ephesus! She was living with John then. She was quite amused when that story started doing the rounds. There were no churches then anyway - we were still meeting in each other’s homes.

Q: Let me rephrase the question. Did you bring Christianity to Hispania?

A: Listen man, in my day the term "Christian" meant follower or proponent of some Messiah and was actually a derogatory term. We were called Pisciculi and we were fishers of men. "So many fishes bred in the water, and saved by one great fish," wrote Tertullian. He was a great writer - but I digress. Paul was supposed to come to Spain about 10 years after my death to teach and to start a new gentile mission in that area where they had never heard the preaching of Yeshua. I don’t think he ever did come here.

Q: You know, of course, that the reliquary in the crypt of the cathedral is supposedly contains your remains?

A: Yes – I went to have a look at it yesterday after the pilgrim’s mass. I’ve heard over the years that my head has been the main relic in at least 11 different places over the ages.  My head is in the cathedral in Jerusalem.  They say that my leg is in the church of St. Saturnin in Toulouse in France; that an arm was in Valencia from the year 640, and that my left hand was in Reading Abbey in Britannia. I’m not sure how many other bits are scattered about the world!

Q: What do make of the many churches and cathedrals along the way?

A: They are marvelous structures but there is something that really shocked me. The Tanack taught us that displays of statues and likenesses of Yahweh elohim is one of the ways that idolatry began. Our biggest problem in the early days was fighting idolatry. We taught that, as YHVH has no shape or form, people should not worship before ‘things of naught’.
I saw many life-like statues, even a statue of a crucified Yeshua, hanging on a cross, covered in old skin!! It is an abomination and if I could have, I would have torn it down with my bare hands! Can't they read?? Have they not read Acts? Don't they know that our Lord was hung on a tree? Excuse me for displaying frustration but all these man made likenesses appear to me as Pagan idols. They are the work of men's hands, unable to speak, see, hear, or feel, and powerless either to injure or to benefit, so it surprises me that they adorn the altars of every church. It saddens me that people bow down before them. Where did we go wrong when millions of 'believers' are climbing stairs to hug a bejeweled, metal effigy of me!!?

Q: There are numerous statues and carvings of you – as an apostle, as a pilgrim, or as Sant’Iago Matamoros,

A: I have seen them and am amused by them. The likenesses of me as an apostle and a pilgrim are acceptable, but I have never been on a horse – although I rather fancy myself as a horseman and warrior!

Q: Your likeness as Santiago Matamoros was carried over the oceans to the New World where you were instrumental in helping to conquer many people. How do you feel about that?

A: That was my likeness, not me. I am, however, amazed that our message planted such strong roots in the West. We are an Eastern religion. Our ministry began in Asia when Yeshua travelled in Lubanan, Palestine and Egypt. Our roots are from the East and were transported to the West by the passion of the apostles and disciples.

Q: What do you make of the church today with its different sects and denominations?

A: There were always different sects even in Judaism. There were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, Essenes and many others. This is the way of the world.

Q: Did you attend Mass along the way?

A: Oh yes, frequently and the priests were very capable. But what struck me as odd is that I never saw any teachers or priests on the actual paths to Santiago – why is that? Yeshua was a street preacher. He walked for miles, preaching in the streets, in the courtyards of the temples, on mountains and besides rivers and the sea. He preached as he walked from one village to the next and even though he preached in the temples from time to time he didn’t build any churches. Where are the street preachers?

Q: Are there any other observations that you would like to share with our readers?

A: Yes – there are a couple of things. You can't blame us for thinking that the Romans finally won the day! They adopted the religion, chose the most feared symbol of all Christians – the cross – as their symbol, and established the head of the church in Rome, of all places! We couldn't believe that the church didn't remain centered in the East, but that is the way of man. Why didn’t they keep the Ichthus which we all used after the great fire to identify each other? They knew this was our secret, coded name - meaning "Jesus Christ, Son of God, our Savior". At least they adopted the fish headdress of the priests of Ea as the miter of the Christian bishops.

Q: Do you know that there was a split in the Roman church that started around 1517?

A: Yes, we know all about that, and what started the split. Our message was clear in the scriptures – why mess with them - and is it not true that in the Tanakh "nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it?"

Q: The Roman Catholics, the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox and the new Anglican churches do not believe that the bible, or the Sola Scriptura, is sufficient as the final authority of Christian doctrine. They believe both the Bible and Roman Catholic tradition are equally binding. What would you say about these two different schools of thought?

A: I am tempted to say “no comment” but I won’t. All I will say is that from the time of Constantine until now, the people who belong to the Christian churches have evolved, grown, changed and are still learning. For instance, the witch hunts ended, they no longer slaughter people (as they did in South America) in the name of God. But, they are still not at peace. Why? Do you remember Agnes – you probably knew her as Mother Teresa? She said, “If you want peace, go talk with your enemies, you don't make peace with friends”.

Q: I think we have time for one last question. May we ask where you will be going from here - back ‘home’ or to do more evangelizing?

A: I was never very good at evangelizing!
I am going to be travelling to Oviedo first to have a look at the Sudarium - remember John spoke of it - and a few other relics. I can't believe that they escaped the Perisans and made it out of Palestine safely. Then I am going to India to do some fishing with my good friend Tenzin Gyatso.

Q: Thank you very much for speaking to us Saint James. I know that you have a busy schedule here in Santiago and wish you God-speed to Oviedo and to India. Before you leave, do you have a message for the many pilgrims who walk long distances to your shrine?


A: The early church was a pilar of fire. This might surprise you but I would like to share a verse written by my friend Besht who was a great scholar and mystic who said, “When you walk across the fields with your mind pure, then from all the stones and all growing things, and all animals, the sparks of their soul come out and cling to you and become a holy fire in you”.

Sant'Iago Killer of Spaniards!!

Santiago Mataespanois (Killer of Spaniards)

There have been recent reports of Muslims obejcting to scupltures, paintings and carvings of Santiago Matamoros (killer of Moors). Someone should tell them that the very same imaginary figure, was also the killer of the Spaniards!

Jacobus, brother of John, son of Zebedee was a fisherman who evolved into the archetypal hero of Western culture. From Sant’ Iago Peregrino to Sant'Iago Matamoros - killer of the Moors: to Sant’ Iago Mataindios - killer of Indians: to Sant’ Iago Mataespañois - killer of Spaniards - everyone wanted him as their hero!
In Mexico City there is a carving from the altarpiece of the Church of Santiago Tlatelolco showing him as Santiago Mataindios - the Indian-slayer.
And although Christianity and the Catholic religion were taken to the Americas by the Spaniards, when Mexico fought to obtain its independence from Spain in 1810, Sant’ Iago was exalted as Santiago Mataespañois - the slayer of Spaniards!
In Peru, during an indigenous uprising in 19th-century they adopted Santiagoas its champion, using the "Matamoros" iconography of “Santiago Mataespañois” that in Peru had come to be associated with a pre-Columbian deity who drove out evil forces. There is a mid-19thC silver statue of Santiago Mataespañois in the Museum of Pilgrimages in Santiago de Compostela.

http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/spain2005/mataespanoisSantiago.html
and another one – scroll down to under Ano 1998 - (as well as pictures of items from the museum) here:
http://www.mdperegrinacions.com/paxinas/historia.html
You can see the altarpiece of Santiago Mataindios here (click on the photo to enlarge it)

http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/bevans/Art454L-03-TlatelolcoXochimilc/I00004.html

You can see paintings of Santiago Matamoros and Mataindios together here:

http://www.huancainos.com/literatura/babelandes.htm