 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Olentzero (Basque pronunciation:[olents̻eɾo],Spanish:[o.lenˈθe.ɾo]; sometimesOlentzaro orOlantzaro andOlenchero) is a character inBasque Christmas tradition. According to Basque traditions, Olentzero comes to town late at night on 24 December todrop off presents for children. In some places he arrives later, for example inOchagavía – Otsagabia on the 27th and inErmua on the 31st.
The nameOlentzero appears in a number of variations:Onenzaro,Onentzaro,Olentzaro,Ononzaro,Orentzago and others. The earliest records give the name asOnentzaro and the name is most likely composed of two elements,on "good" plus agenitiveplural ending and thesuffix-zaro which in Basque denotes a season (compare words likehaurtzaro "childhood"), so "time of the good ones" literally. This suggests a derivation similar to theSpanishnochebuena.
Other theories of derivation exist but are not generally accepted:[1]
In parts ofNavarre this holiday is calledxubilaro orsubilaro fromsubil, the word for aYule log plus the suffix-zaro. In parts ofLower Navarre the wordsuklaro is used, a contraction ofsekularo.Sekularo has no clearetymology but is likely to be related to Latinsaecularis.[2]
There are many variations to the Olentzero traditions and stories connected to him, sometimes varying from village to village. The first written account of Olentzero is fromLope de Isasti in the 17th century:A la noche de Navidad (llamamos) onenzaro, la sazón de los buenos ("To Christmas eve (we call)onenzaro, the season of the good ones").
One common version has Olentzero being one of theJentillak, a race of Basquegiants living in thePyrenees. Legend has it that they observed a glowing cloud in the sky one day. They could not could look at this bright cloud except for a very old, nearly blind man. When asked to examine it, he confirmed their fears and told them that it was a sign that Jesus would be born soon. According to some stories, the old man asked the giants to throw him off a cliff to avoid having to live through Christianisation. Having obliged him, the giants tripped on the way down and died themselves except Olentzero.
Other versions have thejentillak simply leaving, with only Olentzero remaining behind to embrace Christianity.[3]
Other versions of theOlentzeroren kondaira, or "history of Olentzero", tell that as a new born he was abandoned in the woods and was found by a fairy who gave him the name Olentzero, bestowed gifts of strength and kindness on him and handed him to an older childless couple living alone in the woods. He turned into a strong man andcharcoal burner who was also good with his hands, carving wooden toys that he would carry in a big charcoal bag to give to the children of the village. It is said that he died one day saving children from a burning house and that when he died, the fairy who had found him granted him eternal life to continue to bring joy to children and people.
Other variations of the legend, customs and the character include:
Around 1952, inFrancoist Spain, a group calledIrrintzi Elkartea fromZarautz began to revive the Olentzero traditions.[4] Some of the more gruesome elements were removed to make Olentzero more suitable for young children and to remove elements which were deemed too pagan. From 1956 onwards, the revived Olentzero traditions began to spread outside those parts ofGipuzkoa where the traditions hailed from. During the 1970s he began to take on further new attributes, such as the bringer of gifts in attempts to find an alternative to the Spanish tradition of theMagi and the FrenchPère Noël, summed up in the sloganErregeak, españolak "the Three Wise Men are Spanish". Today Olentzero is celebrated all over theBasque Country and coexists with the Magi, Père Noël andFather Christmas, some families choosing to celebrate one or more at the same time.
In the modern version, Olentzero is depicted as a lovable character, widely attributed to being overweight, having a huge appetite and thirst. He is depicted as a Basque peasant wearing a Basque beret, a farmer's attire with traditionalabarketa shoes, smoking a pipe, carrying eggs and a bottle of wine. Whether he has a beard or not is not yet an established tradition. Sometimes his face is stained with charcoal, as a sign of his trade as a charcoal-burner. On Christmas Eve, groups of people or children carry effigies of Olentzero around on a chair through the streets, singing Olentzero carols and collecting food or sweets (not unlike the Americantrick or treat) and the traditions surrounding the holiday ofSanta Ageda in theBasque Country whereoles egitea "asking for alms" is practised. At the end, it is customary in some places to burn the Olentzero, for example inLesaka.
Variation is still common, both regionally and culturally depending on whether the pagan or Christian aspects of Olentzaro are being emphasised. Near the sea, he is usually takes on more marine attributes; inland he remains thoroughly rural in nature.
Since 1994,[5] he has started to be accompanied byMari Domingi,[6] a character previously mentioned in a Basque Christmas carol.[7]Mari Domingi is depicted as a woman in medieval Basque dress.Her addition bringsgender parity to Basque Christmas gift-bringing.[8]
Similar to EuropeanChristmas carols, there areOlentzero kantak. Two very common ones are:
|
|
The title translates as "Olentzero big head". Anarroba is an old measure equivalent to 25 lbs. or just over 11 kg.
|
|
Media related toOlentzero at Wikimedia Commons
