'DÍA DA PATRIA GALEGA', ROOTS OF THE GALICIAN NATION

The Grandma visits Galiza

Today is Saint James, patron of Galiza. The Grandma wants to pay homage to this wonderful and unforgettable land talking about its history, culture and peoples. If you have the possibility, do not doubt about visiting this magic place full of mystery, legends and places to see and enjoy.

Galiza or Galicia is a Celtic Nation in the south of Europe, a nation that waits for its awakeness and works very hard every day to reach it.

Parabéns Galiza!

Dia Nacional de Galicia or National Day of Galicia is when Galicia celebrates its national holiday. It falls on 25 July.

It is also called Día da Patria Galega, Day of the Galician Fatherland or simply Día de Galicia but the official full denomination is the National Day of Galicia, as established by the Galician government in 1979.

The origins of the celebration can be traced back to 1919, when the Assembly of the Galicianist organization Irmandades da Fala met in the Galician capital, Santiago de Compostela. It was then decided to celebrate the National Day on 25 July the following year. The date was chosen as it is the day dedicated to Saint James, patron saint of both Galicia and the Galician capital city.

It was celebrated openly until the Francoist dictatorship (1939-1977), when any display of non-Spanish nationalism was prohibited. During that time the National Day would still be celebrated as such by the Galician emigrant communities abroad.

More information: Cultura

In Galicia, the Galicianists would gather with the pretext of offering a Mass for Galician poet and literary icon Rosalia de Castro. Curiously enough, the Francoist regime institutionalized the religious celebration of Saint James as the patron saint of Spain.

Nonetheless, from 1968 Galicianists attempted to celebrate the day in Compostela and called for public political demonstrations every 25 July. These demonstrations would invariably result in riots with the Spanish police.

Even during the first years of democracy, after 1977, any demonstration organised by the Asemblea Nacional-Popular Galega and the BN-PG, later transformed into the Galician Nationalist Bloc, would still be forbidden. It is only during the mid-1980s when the National Day started to, gradually, be celebrated with some degree of normality. Although, the events from the late 1960s onwards transformed the National Day celebrations into a date with deep political implications.

The Grandma visits Galiza

At present, Galician political parties organise large demonstrations at the capital city and/or a number of activities to commemorate the day.

The political and institutional activities are normally all based in Santiago de Compostela, and the day is an official public holiday celebrated with solemnity by the Galician government.

Apart from that, a number of festivities take place from the night of the 24th until high hours in the morning of the 26th, celebrated by many.

The ethnonym Galicians (Galegos) derives from the Latin Gallaeci or Callaeci, itself an adaptation of the name of a local Celtic tribe known to the Greeks as Καλλαϊκoί (Kallaikoí), who lived in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal, and who were conquered by the Roman General Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus in the 2nd century BCE.

The Romans later applied this name to all the people who shared the same culture and language in the northwest, from the Douro River valley in the south to the Cantabrian Sea in the north and west to the Navia River, encompassing tribes as the Celtici, the Artabri, the Lemavi and the Albiones, among others.

The etymology of the name has been studied since the 7th century by authors such as Isidore of Seville, who wrote that Galicians are called so because of their fair skin, as the Gauls, relating the name to the Greek word for milk.

However, modern scholars have derived the name of the ancient Callaeci either from Proto-Indo-European *kal-n-eH2 hill, through a local relational suffix -aik-, so meaning the highlanders; or either from Proto-Celtic *kallī- forest, so meaning the forest (people).

More information: Tartan Gallaecia

The most recent proposal comes from linguist Francesco Benozzo after identifying the root gall- / kall- in a number of Celtic words with the meaning stone or rock, as follows: gall (old Irish), gal (Middle Welsh), gailleichan (Scottish Gaelic), kailhoù (Breton), galagh (Manx) and gall (Gaulish).

Hence, Benozzo explains the name Callaecia and its ethnonym Callaeci as being the stone people or the people of the stone (those who work with stones), in reference to the ancient megaliths and stone formations so common in Galicia and Portugal.

Galician is a Romance language belonging to the Western Ibero-Romance branch; as such, it derives from Latin.

It has official status in Galicia. Galician is also spoken in the neighbouring communities of Asturias and Castile and León, near their borders with Galicia.

Sempre en Galiza by Alfonso Castelao

Medieval or Old Galician, also known by linguists as Galician-Portuguese, developed locally in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula from Vulgar Latin, becoming the language spoken and written in the medieval kingdoms of Galicia, from 1230 united with the kingdoms of Leon and Castille under the same sovereign and Portugal.

The Galician-Portuguese language developed a rich literary tradition from the last years of the 12th century. During the 13th century it gradually substituted Latin as the language used in public and private charters, deeds, and legal documents, in Galicia, Portugal, and in the neighbouring regions in Asturias and Leon.

Galician-Portuguese diverged into two linguistic varieties -Galician and Portuguese- from the 15th century on. 

Galician became a regional variety open to the influence of Castilian Spanish, while Portuguese became the international one, as language of the Portuguese Empire. The two varieties are still close together, and in particular northern Portuguese dialects share an important number of similarities with Galician ones.

The official institution regulating the Galician language, backed by the Galician government and universities, the Royal Galician Academy, claims that modern Galician must be considered an independent Romance language belonging to the group of Ibero-Romance languages and having strong ties with Portuguese and its northern dialects.

More information: Euskadi

However, the Associaçom Galega da Língua (Galician Language Association) and Academia Galega da Língua Portuguesa (Galician Academy of the Portuguese Language), belonging to the Reintegrationist movement, support the idea that differences between Galician and Portuguese speech are not enough to justify considering them as separate languages: Galician is simply one variety of Galician-Portuguese, along with Brazilian Portuguese, African Portuguese, the Galician-Portuguese still spoken in Spanish Extremadura, (Fala), and other variations.

Nowadays, despite the positive effects of official recognition of the Galician language, Galicia's socio-linguistic development has experienced the growing influence of Spanish due the media as well as legal imposition of Spanish in learning.

Galicia also boasts a rich oral tradition, in the form of songs, tales, and sayings, which has made a vital contribution to the spread and development of the Galician language. Still flourishing today, this tradition shares much with that of Portugal.

More information: Galician Flag

Volverei, volverei á vida
Cando rompa a luz nos cons
Porque nós arrancamos todo o orgullo do mar,
Non nos afundiremos nunca máis
Que na túa memoria xa non hai volta atrás:
Non nos humillaredes NUNCA MÁIS.

Luar Na Lubre

LUAR NA LUBRE, GALICIAN SONGS AROUND THE WORLD

Arriving to Barcelona

The Grandma and Claire Fontaine have flown back from Palma to Barcelona.

This trip has been very exciting for The Grandma and she has preferred to stay at home resting and checking her last photos, videos and memories of the island.

During the short flight from Palma to Barcelona, The Grandma has been studying a new lesson of her Elementary Language Practice manual (Vocabulary 6).

More information: Vocabulary 6-Jobs

Claire Fontaine is younger than The Grandma and she has continued her intensive and social life when she has arrived to Barcelona. Tonight, she has gone to Barts Theatre to listen to one of the most amazing and wonderful Galician groups, Luar Na Lubre, which has presented their new album Ribeira Sacra in the Catalan capital. Claire has enjoyed the concert a lot and she has discovered new legends and sounds from the Galician lands.

Luar na Lubre is a Celtic music ensemble from Galiza. Luar is Galician for moonlight; lubre is a magical forest in which the Celtic druids cast their spells.

During its career, this musical group has spread Galician music and culture. The band became famous worldwide after Mike Oldfield took interest in their music. Oldfield fell in love with their song O son do ar, The sound of the air, composed by Bieito Romero. Oldfield's cover is on his Voyager album, entitled Song of the Sun.

More information: Luar na Lubre

In 1992 he offered help in their worldwide tour. Their tour together was called Tubular Bells 3. Now it is one of the most famous groups from Galicia. Their first singer Rosa Cedrón is also featured with Mike Oldfield in some songs from his live concert at Horse Guards Parade, near St James's Park, London.

Rosa Cedrón left the band in 2005 and Sara Vidal became the new singer (nowadays is Irma Macías). In 2010, the group's leader, Bieito Romero, said the group was "fully fit". The group recorded a version of Gerdundula by Status Quo.

The folk metal band Mägo de Oz made a cover of Luar na Lubre's song Memoria da Noite. The epic metal band Runic made a cover of Luar na Lubre's song Nau.
 

Claire listens to Luar Na Lubre in Barcelona

Their most famous singles are Memoria da Noite, Os Animais, O son do ar, Tu gitana and Chove en Santiago. Most of their lyrics are in the Galician language. Their song Nau, written by Bieito Romero is about Galicia as a ship with no direction.

Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considerably to include everything from trad, traditional, music to a wide range of hybrids.

These styles are known because of the importance of Irish and Scottish people in the English speaking world, especially in the United States, where they had a profound impact on American music, particularly bluegrass and country music.

More information: Folkways

The music of Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Brittany, Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias and Portugal are also considered Celtic music, the tradition being particularly strong in Brittany, where Celtic festivals large and small take place throughout the year, and in Wales, where the ancient eisteddfod tradition has been revived and flourishes.

Additionally, the musics of ethnically Celtic peoples abroad are vibrant, especially in Canada and the United States. In Canada the provinces of Atlantic Canada are known for being a home of Celtic music, most notably on the islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island. The traditional music of Atlantic Canada is heavily influenced by the Irish, Scottish and Acadian ethnic makeup of much of the region's communities. In some parts of Atlantic Canada, such as Newfoundland, Celtic music is as or more popular than in the old country.

Further, some older forms of Celtic music that are rare in Scotland and Ireland today, such as the practice of accompanying a fiddle with a piano, or the Gaelic spinning songs of Cape Breton remain common in the Maritimes. Much of the music of this region is Celtic in nature, but originates in the local area and celebrates the sea, seafaring, fishing and other primary industries.

More information: Celtic Wedding Rings

Celtic music will always be around, 

even if with the mainstream crowds it dies out.

Natalie MacMaster

FROM OCCITANIA TO THE USA: HONOUR TO THE DEAD

The Grandma's celebrates Castanyada

Castanyada, Magosto or Magüestu, Samhaín and Halloween are popular festivals mainly on All Saints' Day. In Catalonia, Andorra and Occitania, celebrations involve eating roast chestnuts, panellets or baked sweet potato and preserved fruit, candied or glazed fruit, typically with moscatell to drink. 

It seems that the tradition of eating these foods comes from the fact that during All Saints' night, on the eve of All Souls' Day in the Christian tradition, bell ringers would ring bells in commemoration of the dead into the early morning. Friends and relatives would help with this task, and everyone would eat these foods for sustenance.

Other versions of the story state that the Castanyada originates at the end of the 18th century and comes from the old funeral meals, where other foods, such as vegetables and dried fruit were not served. The meal had the symbolic significance of a communion with the souls of the departed: while the chestnuts were roasting, prayers would be said for the person who had just died.

The festival is usually depicted with the figure of a castanyera: an old lady, dressed in peasant's clothing and wearing a headscarf, sitting behind a table, roasting chestnuts for street sale.

More information: La castanyada (Catalan Version)

Tina Picotes celebrates Magosto/Magüestu

The Magosto or Magüestu is the essential Galician, Asturian and Portuguese autumn pagan festival. In addition to chestnuts and local young wine, various foods have been incorporated such as sausages and other products made from the pig slaughter, which occurs precisely at that time. 

Chestnut festival is traditionally celebrated in the same grove, starting early in the afternoon to collect firewood and chestnuts. One or more bonfires are lit with sticks and pine needles. Young people took to the streets. It was customary for the girls to bring the chestnuts, and for the boys to bring the wine. Chestnuts are roasted on the floor, directly in the fire. Children play to dirt their faces with soot and ash. The adults dance and sing, jumping over the remains of the fire.

More information: Festa do Magosto (Galician Version)

Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, or the "darker half" of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from the very beginning of one Celtic day to its end, or in the modern calendar, from sunset on 31 October to sunset on 1 November, this places it about halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasadh. 

Joseph de Ca'th Lon celebrates Samhaín

Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Similar festivals are held at the same time of year in other Celtic lands; for example the Brythonic Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Kalan Gwav in Cornwall, and Kalan Goañv in Brittany.

Samhain is believed to have Celtic pagan origins, and there is evidence it has been an important date since ancient times. The Mound of the Hostages, a Neolithic passage tomb at the Hill of Tara, is aligned with the Samhain sunrise. It is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature, and many important events in Irish mythology happen or begin on Samhain.

More information: Samhaín (Celtic Guide)

Halloween or Hallowe'en, a contraction of All Hallows' Evening, also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve, is a celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide,  the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, hallows, martyrs, and all the faithful departed.

Claire Fontaine celebrates Halloween

Halloween's activities include trick-or-treating, attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories and watching horror films. 

In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular, although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration. Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes and soul cakes.

It was not until mass Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th century that Halloween became a major holiday in North America. Confined to the immigrant communities during the mid-19th century, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and by the first decade of the 20th century it was being celebrated coast-to-coast by people of all social, racial and religious backgrounds.

More information: History of Trick-or-Treating

The fear of death follows from the fear of life.

A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time

Mark Twain