Culture

The origin of San Froilan in Lugo goes back to 1754 and is dedicated to Lugo's patron saint San Froilan. Since then, they have become one of the most important celebrations in Galicia. From 4 to 12 October Lugo holds its San Froilán Fiestas, attracting thousands of visitors every year.

Two of the days stand out:
- 5 October where religious celebrations honor of the patron saint, San Froilán
- the following Sunday, known as “O Domingo das Mozas”, which is dedicated to traditional Galician costumes and folklore. Over the course of these days there are a series of parades through the city, with "big-heads", brass bands, street markets and magic shows, juggling and street entertainment.

The fiestas come to an end 12 October with the Medieval Fair: the Cathedral square and the area around the Roman city wall are turned into a typical Medieval market, with an array of knights, demonstrations of falconry and traditional trades, and, of course, a medieval banquet is also held. In the evening, a stunning firework display brings the celebrations to a close until the following year.

The Polbo á feira, which is octopus boiled inside a copper cauldron cut and prepared with olive oil and paprika, is the traditional food consumed during these days.

Arde Lucus is a festival celebrated in Lugo occuring in the last weeks of June. You see people throughout the city dressed in Roman and Celtic attire and are celebrating the city's Roman wall becoming a World Heritage Site in 2000.

There are many activities that can be found through the city: shows, circuses, statue building, magic shows, fancy dress parades, Roman clothes contests, Roman games, battle recreations between Romans and Celts, gladiator fights, slave sales, Roman weddings, military instruction in the city's streets and different activities to remind the citizens of the Roman and Castro past of the city.

Fogueira San Juan is one of the most important cultural festivities celebrated in Galicia. It is held on the night of the 23-24 of June which coincides with the summer solstace.

This ritual has been celebrated since ancient times. There are many supertitious rituals associated with this tradition all to protect oneself from witches and demons:

• jumping the bondfire
• putting a bouquet of herbs in your main front door
• when you wake up to wash yourself with rose water

A few days before the bonfire, many people will gather materials from public places to be used for the fire. During the festivities people will normally drink wine, eat grilled trout, sing and dance all huddled around the bonfire.

Queimada is an alcoholic beverage of Galician tradition. It is a punch made from Galician augardiente. It is distilled from wine and flavored with special herbs or coffee, plus sugar, lemon peel, coffee beans and cinnamon.

It is traditionally prepared in a hollow caldron like pottery dish. Typically, while preparing the punch, a spell or incantation is recited. It is then set on fire, and it slowly burns producing a bluish tone. The goal of the preparation ritual is to vanish the bad spirits that, according with the tradition, lie in wait for men and women to try to curse them.

All occasions are good for a queimada: a party, familiar meetings or gatherings of friends. The best time for this is after dinner, in the darkness of night.

The people who take part in it gather around the container where it is prepared, taking turns pouring the liquid back into the container with a ladle. The tradition is the further you can get the flame to go up when pouring it from the ladle the better the incantation.

Mouchos, curuxas, sapos e bruxas.
Demos, trasgos e diaños, espíritos das neboadas veigas.

(Owls, barn owls, toads and witches.
Demons, goblins anvils,spirits of the misty vales.)

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Camino de Santiago is the name of any of the pilgrimage routes to the shrine of the apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, where tradition has it that the remains of the saint are buried. Many take up this route as a form of spiritual path or retreat, for their spiritual growth.

The symbolic scallop shell, often found on the shores in Galicia, has long been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago. Over the centuries the scallop shell has taken on mythical, metaphorical and practical meanings. The scallop shell also acts as a metaphor. The grooves in the shell, which meet at a single point, represent the various routes pilgrims traveled, eventually arriving at a single destination: the tomb of James in the vast cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

Semana Santa or Holy Week is an important religious celebration. It is in the last week of Lent, which is a week before Easter.

Almost every town has some sort of procession. It is the annual commemoration of the Passion of Jesus Christ celebrated by Catholic religious brotherhoods and fraternities that perform penance processions on the streets.

A common feature is the almost general usage of a penitential robe for some of the participants in the processions. This garment consists in a tunic, a hood with conical tip (capirote) used to conceal the face of the wearer, and sometimes a cloak. The exact colors and forms of these robes depend on the particular procession. The robes were widely used in the medieval period for penitents, who could demonstrate their penance while still masking their identity.

The other common feature is that every brotherhood carries magnificent "Pasos" or floats with sculptures that depict different scenes from the gospels related to the Passion of Christ or the Sorrows of Virgin Mary. Many of these floats are art pieces. Brotherhoods have owned and preserved these "pasos" for centuries in some cases. Usually, the "pasos" are accompanied by Marching bands performing "Marchas procesionales" a specific type of compositions, devoted to the images and fraternities.

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