Posted by: pim
Feliz día de la Fiesta Nacional!!! - 10/12/02 07:42 AM
Yep! Today, October 1th. is our very own 4th of July(US), July 14th(France), or May 5th(Mexico)....Though many, many Spaniards don't know that!
This date was always commemorated as both the 'Dia de la Hispanidad', and the 'Día de la Virgen del Pilar', and many people are unaware that several years back, I'm sorry I can't remember exactly when, maybe a decade ago or so, (gee, how time flies!), it was also declared our National Holiday Day, since we didn't have any!
So now, as I write, I'm watching on the TV the 'legionarios' with their famous mascot, a goat, parading in front of the royal family, the members of the government, etc.... to the sound of '"Banderita tu eres roja, banderita tu eres gualda,...."'. Can't get much more Spanish than this!....
The weather is beautiful today, which is great, considering how miserable it has been all week!
(Let's hope there are no terrorist acts, that endanger thousands of people enjoying today's parade, this year, as did last year )
As for me, both my parents come from Zaragoza, the land of 'La Virgen del Pilar', so all my life I've spend this day there enjoying the festivities, (except when I was in the States), when I was a kid my sis and I dressed up with the traditional costume of 'baturras', inherited from our grandmother and great-grandmother and attended the 'ofrenda de flores', which is like a pilgrimage through the main streets of the city, everyone dressed as baturros, carrying bouquets of flowers to the plaza at the entrance of the 'Basílica del Pilar', where once there, they took our bouquets and with those hundreds of thousands of flowers shaped the Virgin's "outfit". There's also an 'ofrenda de frutos' and many other events taking place this day (usually a 'puente'(long-weekend), BTW), but I must say that, this tradition is immensely popular in Zaragoza, and I have great memories of it .
This date was always commemorated as both the 'Dia de la Hispanidad', and the 'Día de la Virgen del Pilar', and many people are unaware that several years back, I'm sorry I can't remember exactly when, maybe a decade ago or so, (gee, how time flies!), it was also declared our National Holiday Day, since we didn't have any!
So now, as I write, I'm watching on the TV the 'legionarios' with their famous mascot, a goat, parading in front of the royal family, the members of the government, etc.... to the sound of '"Banderita tu eres roja, banderita tu eres gualda,...."'. Can't get much more Spanish than this!....
The weather is beautiful today, which is great, considering how miserable it has been all week!
(Let's hope there are no terrorist acts, that endanger thousands of people enjoying today's parade, this year, as did last year )
As for me, both my parents come from Zaragoza, the land of 'La Virgen del Pilar', so all my life I've spend this day there enjoying the festivities, (except when I was in the States), when I was a kid my sis and I dressed up with the traditional costume of 'baturras', inherited from our grandmother and great-grandmother and attended the 'ofrenda de flores', which is like a pilgrimage through the main streets of the city, everyone dressed as baturros, carrying bouquets of flowers to the plaza at the entrance of the 'Basílica del Pilar', where once there, they took our bouquets and with those hundreds of thousands of flowers shaped the Virgin's "outfit". There's also an 'ofrenda de frutos' and many other events taking place this day (usually a 'puente'(long-weekend), BTW), but I must say that, this tradition is immensely popular in Zaragoza, and I have great memories of it .