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Costa Brava Culture & Traditions |
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Costa Brava is brimming with traditions and deep-rooted customs which, up until now, were still maintained by a large portion of the population. The following are some of the most popular.
Bunyols (sweet fritters)
These are otherwise known as sweet fritters that are specially prepared for Easter. During this time of celebration, you’ll see them everywhere. They are ideal with sweet wine or muscatel. In Catalan, their name means formless mass, which is certainly apt for the way they look. However, they’re delicious just the same.
Fiestas
These annual festivals of each town or village are held in honour of its patron saint. Fiestas usually include families inviting all of their relatives, mothers and grandmothers. Extra special meals are prepared, and all kinds of events are organized: holy mass, processions, dances, sardana sessions, and so on.
The dances usually start in the evening, with a band playing pasodobles, waltzes, salsa and current popular songs. The merriment of such dances is so jovial they last well into the early hours of the morning.
The processions are parade marches through the streets of the town, made lively with the accompaniment of music from drums and other instruments. The whole town joins these parades, enjoying lots of singing and dancing.
Each fiesta is celebrated in its own unique style, complete with events such as popular meals, children’s activities, carnivals, card-playing competitions, concerts and so on.
In connection to this, most of the traditional festivities in Costa Brava have a religious origin, especially the fiestas. Accordingly, one of the most significant processions on the coast is that of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, patroness of sailors, which takes place in Palamós.
Cagar el tió
Literally, the tió is a log which has to be prepared several days before Christmas. It is placed in a dark corner, covered with a blanket, and “fed” every night in the manner where some food is placed under the blanket.
The tió is the Santa Claus version of Costa Brava. On Christmas Eve, the family gathers around the tió and has the children hit it for a few minutes and see what the log has produced. It will churn out toys, books and even things like socks and stockings for the adults. After that, the log has to be put away until the next Christmas.
The casinos, social clubs and cafés
In the past, these types of establishments were built as restaurants that later became places for meeting and debate between various social groups. These groups include employers, clerks, labourers, traders and clergymen.
Up until now, though the political importance of the places was lost after the Civil War, they still continue to be the meeting place for everyone. In here, the customers can chat, laugh, argue, criticize, drink, watch football on TV, and play cards. Some of these places even have conserved their old architecture of carved wood bar counters and marble-topped tables.
The pig slaughter
This is a popular tradition because the event brings all of the family and their relatives together. However, the traditional pig slaughter is now limited to the countryside, which is where the best sausages come from. This is because government health and hygiene regulations have prohibited the fattening of livestock in houses situated in urban centres.
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