Olentzero
Encyclopedia
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
Christmas tradition
Christmas in the Basque Country
Christmas in the Basque Country starts with Santo Tomas, a celebration in which most people go out onto the streets to dance and eat txistorra . They wear a traditional outfit called the casera dress. For girls it consists of a long skirt and a long-sleeved old-fashioned shirt with headscarves and...
. According to Basque traditions Olentzero comes to town late at night on the 24th of December to drop off presents for children. In some places he arrives later, for example in Ochagavía – Otsagabia on the 27th and in Ermua
Ermua
Ermua is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:* * *...
on the 31st.
The name
The name Olentzero appears in a number of variations: Onenzaro, Onentzaro, Olentzaro, Ononzaro, Orentzago and others. The earliest records give the name as Onentzaro and the name is most likely composed of two elements, on "good" plus a genitive pluralPlural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
ending and the suffix
Suffix
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...
-zaro which in Basque denotes a season (compare words like haurtzaro "childhood"), so "time of the good ones" literally. This suggests a derivation similar to the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
nochebuena
Nochebuena
Nochebuena, , is a Spanish word referring to the night of Christmas Eve. In Spain, Cuba, Latin America, and the Philippines, the evening consists of a traditional dinner with family....
, but the origin of Onentzaro, corresponding to the old feast of the winter solstice
Winter solstice
Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
, is older than that of Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
(which historically replaced the festival of Sol Invictus
Sol Invictus
Sol Invictus was the official sun god of the later Roman empire. In 274 Aurelian made it an official cult alongside the traditional Roman cults. Scholars disagree whether the new deity was a refoundation of the ancient Latin cult of Sol, a revival of the cult of Elagabalus or completely new...
in 380 under Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
in the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
).
Other theories of derivation exist but are not generally accepted:
- from a metathesisMetathesis (linguistics)Metathesis is the re-arranging of sounds or syllables in a word, or of words in a sentence. Most commonly it refers to the switching of two or more contiguous sounds, known as adjacent metathesis or local metathesis:...
of Noël, theory of S. Altube - from a fusion of O Nazarene from Christian liturgyLiturgyLiturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
, theory of J. Gorostiaga - from oles-aro "alms season", a phonologically impossible derivation by Julio Caro BarojaJulio Caro BarojaJulio Caro Baroja was a world-renowned Basque Spanish anthropologist, historian, linguist and essayist. He was known for his special interest in Basque culture, history and society. Of Basque ancestry, he was the nephew of the renowned writer Pio Baroja; and his brother, painter, writer and...
In parts of Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
this holiday is called xubilaro or subilaro from subil, the word for a Yule log
Yule log
A Yule log is a large and extremely hard log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in several European cultures...
plus the suffix -zaro. In parts of Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre is a part of the present day Pyrénées Atlantiques département of France. Along with Navarre of Spain, it was once ruled by the Kings of Navarre. Lower Navarre was historically one of the kingdoms of Navarre. Its capital were Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Palais...
the word suklaro is used, a contraction of sekularo. Sekularo has no clear etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
but is likely to be related to Latin saecularis.
The legend
One common version has Olentzero being one of the jentillak, a mythological race of Basque giants
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
living in the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
. Legend has it that they observed a glowing cloud in the sky one day. None of them 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 will 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 the jentillak simply leaving, with only Olentzero remaining behind to embrace Christianity.
Parts of Olentzero legend are reminiscent of a prehistoric cult rituals surrounding the winter solstice
Winter solstice
Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
, such as the involvement of ritual "last meals" and sacrifices of rebirth.
Other versions of the Olentzeroren 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 and charcoal 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:
- in AresoAresoAreso is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.-External links:*...
children would be told to come home early. An adult would then dress up as Olentzero and scare the children still out on the streets with a sickle. - in Uharte-ArakilUharte-ArakilUharte-Arakil is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.-External links:*...
he was traditionally suspended from a rope from a window, dressed in a straw mantle, in LekunberriLekunberri, SpainLekunberri is a municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre , northern Spain. It is situated in the northwestern portion of the province, some 30 km from the provincial capital, Pamplona...
the effigy was attached to the chimney. - in BerastegiBerastegiBerastegi is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain, at the shores of the river Elduaran or Berastegi, at 1° 39' 40" east y 43° 08' 40" north, and at an altitude of 161,21 m...
if the children did not want to go to bed, a sickle would be thrown down the chimney and the children told that Olentzero would come to cut their throats if they didn't go to bed. - in Dima a straw puppet dressed as Olentzero with a sickle would be hung from the church tower after the midnight mass on Christmas EveChristmas EveChristmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
and if children had been behaving badly, people would say Onontzaro begi-gorri txaminira da etorri, austen baldin badegu barua, orrek lepoa kendu guri "Olentzero with the red eyes has come to the chimney, if we break the fast, he will cut our throats" - referring to the traditional fast in the week before Christmas. - in LarraunLarraunLarraun is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.-External links:*...
he was called Ononzaro and said to have three eyes and usually depicted as a drunkard dressed like a scarecrowScarecrowA scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...
. People would ask Ononzaro begi-gorri, non arrapatu duk arrai ori? (Olentzero of the red eyes, where did you catch that fish (i.e. inebriation)?) and the answer would be Bart arratseko amaiketan Zurriolako arroketan (last night at eleven in the rocks of Zurriola).
Modern customs and derivation
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...
dictatorship, a group called Irrintzi Elkartea from Zarautz
Zarautz
Zarautz is a coastal town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, northern Spain.The town is a popular tourist destination with the population swelling from its usual 22,812 to around 60,000 in summer. The Palace of Narros, located adjacent to Zarautz's 2.8 km long beach,...
began to revive the Olentzero traditions. 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 of Gipuzkoa 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 the Magi
Magi
Magi is a term, used since at least the 4th century BC, to denote a follower of Zoroaster, or rather, a follower of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which...
and the French Père Noël
Père Noël
Père Noël is a legendary gift-giver during Christmas in France and French-speaking areas, identified with Father Christmas or Santa Claus in English speaking territories....
, summed up in the slogan Erregeak, españolak "the Three Wise Men are Spanish". Today Olentzero is celebrated all over the Basque Country
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
and coexists with the Magi, Père Noël and Father Christmas
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name exists in several other countries, including France , Spain , Brazil , Portugal , Italy , Armenia , India...
, 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 traditional abarketa shoes and smoking a pipe. 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 American trick or treat
Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat is a 1952 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon, which takes place on Halloween night, follows a series of pranks between Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie who are aided by Witch Hazel...
) and the traditions surrounding the holiday of Santa Ageda
Agatha of Sicily
Saint Agatha of Sicily is a Christian saint. Her memorial is on 5 February. Agatha was born at Catania, Sicily, and she was martyred in approximately 251...
in the Basque Country
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
where oles egitea "asking for alms" is practised. At the end, it is customary in some places to burn the Olentzero, for example in Lesaka
Lesaka
Lesaka is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, in Spain.-External links:*...
.
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.
Olentzero songs
Similar to European Christmas carolChristmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
s, there are Olentzero kantak. Two very common ones are:
Olentzero
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Olentzero buru handia
The title translates as "Olentzero big head". An arroba is an old measure equivalent to just over 11kg.
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External links
- Olentzero.net, Olentzero's official website of Pamplona-IruñaPamplonaPamplona 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...
, LesakaLesakaLesaka is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, in Spain.-External links:*...
, Baiona-BayonneBayonneBayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture...
, among many other locations.