Aberri Eguna
Encyclopedia
Aberri Eguna is a holiday coinciding with Easter Sunday which has its roots in the Basque nationalist movement
. It was first organised by the Basque Nationalist Party
on 27 April 1932 in Bilbao
, then consisting of a demonstration of some 65,000 participants which terminted at the Sabino Arana House
. It has since become the inofficial Basque national holiday
.
-ba which occurs in numerous kinship terms (e.g. osaba "uncle", izeba "aunt", arreba "sister of a man" etc) from which he fancifully deduced a putative root *aba "father". He formed numerous neologisms based on this putative word such as aberri (*aba + herri "land, people, country, settlement"), abizen "surname" (*aba + izen "name") or abenda "race" (*aba + enda "lineage"). From aberri he then went on the coin abertzale "patriot" (aberri "fatherland" + -(t)zale, a suffix denoting someone keen on something). In spite of their fanciful derivation, aberri and abertzale have found their way into general usage.
(from 1889 onwards) and the National Day of Galicia
(from 1919 onwards). It was then celebrated in San Sebastián
in 1933, in Vitoria-Gasteiz
in 1934 and in Pamplona
in 1935.
From 1936 onwards, the year of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
it was no longer celebrated in a single location but instead in various localities on a smaller scale and under clandestine conditions as under Franco
, Aberri Eguna was forbidden from 1937 to 1975. It was only freely celebrated in the Northern Basque Country
under the auspices of the Basque Government in Exile.
, traditional sports
, food
and drink, in particular Basque cider
.
Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...
. It was first organised by the Basque Nationalist Party
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
on 27 April 1932 in Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
, then consisting of a demonstration of some 65,000 participants which terminted at the Sabino Arana House
Sabino Arana
Sabino Arana Goiri, self-styled as Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Sabin, , was a Spanish and Basque writer. He was the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party and father of Basque nationalism....
. It has since become the inofficial Basque national holiday
National holiday
National holiday may refer to:*A National Day, in which a country celebrates its independence, establishment or an otherwise significant event....
.
Etymology
Aberri is a neologism coined by Sabino Arana based on the suffixSuffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
-ba which occurs in numerous kinship terms (e.g. osaba "uncle", izeba "aunt", arreba "sister of a man" etc) from which he fancifully deduced a putative root *aba "father". He formed numerous neologisms based on this putative word such as aberri (*aba + herri "land, people, country, settlement"), abizen "surname" (*aba + izen "name") or abenda "race" (*aba + enda "lineage"). From aberri he then went on the coin abertzale "patriot" (aberri "fatherland" + -(t)zale, a suffix denoting someone keen on something). In spite of their fanciful derivation, aberri and abertzale have found their way into general usage.
History
The first Aberri Eguna was been held in memory of Sabino Arana having "invented" the concept of political Basque nationalism in 1882 according to his own writings. There are some claims that the date was artificially assigned after Arana's death. It coinciding with Easter, however, is deliberate as it follows the motto of the Basque Nationalist Party Jaungoiko eta Lege Zaharrak "God and the Old Laws and the symbolism of the resurrection of Christ. Ideologically, it follows the examples of the older Catalan and Galician patriotic holidays, the National Day of CataloniaNational Day of Catalonia
On September 11, Catalonia commemorates the 1714 Siege of Barcelona defeat during the War of the Spanish Succession. As correction for their support to the claim of Habsburg Archduke Charles to the throne of Spain, institutions and rights of the territories of the Crown of Aragon were abolished by...
(from 1889 onwards) and the National Day of Galicia
Día Nacional de Galicia
Dia Nacional de Galicia is when the Nation of Galicia celebrates its national holiday. It falls on the 25th of July....
(from 1919 onwards). It was then celebrated in San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
in 1933, in Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital city of the province of Álava and of the autonomous community of the Basque Country in northern Spain with a population of 235,661 people. It is the second largest Basque city...
in 1934 and in Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
in 1935.
From 1936 onwards, the year of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
it was no longer celebrated in a single location but instead in various localities on a smaller scale and under clandestine conditions as under Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
, Aberri Eguna was forbidden from 1937 to 1975. It was only freely celebrated in the Northern Basque Country
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....
under the auspices of the Basque Government in Exile.
Current status
The Aberri Eguna is not an official holiday and main events continue to be organized by Basque nationalist parties. However, the exact format and tone depends on the organiser and thus can vary considerably from a political rally to a cultural picnic. In particular in emigrant communities, the celebration of Basque culture features much more strongly than any political overtones. The cultural element often features events such as Basque musicBasque music
The strict classification of Basque music remains a controversial issue, complicated in part by the growing diversification of such music, but by and large it is made in the Basque Country, it reflects traits related to that society/tradition and it is devised by people from the Basque...
, traditional sports
Basque rural sports
Basque rural sports, known as Herri Kirolak in Basque, is the term used for a number of sports competitions rooted in the traditional lifestyles of the Basque people...
, food
Basque cuisine
Basque cuisine, the cuisine of the Basque people, includes meats and fish grilled over hot coals, marmitako and lamb stews, cod, Tolosa bean dishes, paprikas from Lekeitio, pintxos , Idiazabal sheep's cheese, txakoli sparkling wine, and Basque cider.A basquaise is a type of dish prepared in the...
and drink, in particular Basque cider
Sagardotegi
A sagardotegi is a type of cider house found in the Basque Country. Modern sagardotegis can broadly be described as a cross between a steakhouse and a cider house....
.
External links
- North American Basque Organizations on the Aberri Eguna
- Article by John Ysursa on Aberri Eguna
- José Luis de la Granja Sáinz, El culto a Sabino Arana: La doble resurreción y el origen histórico del Aberri Eguna en la II República, in Historia y política: Ideas, procesos y movimientos sociales, ISSN 1575-0361, Nº 15, 2006 , págs. 65-116 http://revistas.cepc.es/revistas.aspx?IDR=9&IDN=644&IDA=26792