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Festivals and customs: the logic behind the myth

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Posted on 2017-01-27 in
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Bonfire Night in Labastida, 2015. José Ángel Chasco.

I would like to make a reflection and express a point of criticism regarding the stubbornness of some ethnographers to develop complicated interpretations and mythological studies about the origin and meaning of certain festivals and customs. They make assertions that go against all logic and common sense. Refusing to see reality as it is, ancestral origins and esoteric meanings are claimed. They construct picturesque, fictitious and fantastic theories and hypotheses that can only be the result of a lack of good sense and an unreasonable use of works such as The golden bough: a study in magic and religion by J. G. Frazer or Fiestas populares e insólitas [Extraordinary popular celebrations] by Juan G. Atienza. (more…)

Last Monday of October in Gernika-Lumo (Bizkaia)

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Posted on 2016-10-28 in
ultimolunesoctubregernika

Last Monday of October in Gernika-Lumo, 1996. José Ignacio García Muñoz. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.

Unique fairs and festivals popular with people from near and far are celebrated in many localities throughout Euskal Herria.

Fairs were commercial in character from the beginning. On certain days and places such periodic gatherings gained a particular relevance over time and came to enjoy great prestige. So is the case of the markets held on St Thomas’ Day in Bilbao and Donostia, the well-known Idiazabal cheese fair in Ordizia (Gipuzkoa), the fish fair at Bermeo port, and so on. The same goes for the last Monday of October fair in Gernika-Lumo. (more…)

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