Olentzero
Sign in to savethumb|185px|A figure of Olen being carried through the streets of Barakaldo Olentzero (, sometimes Olentzaro or Olantzaro and Olenchero) is a character in Basque Christmas tradition. According to Basque traditions, Olentzero comes to town late at night on 24 December to drop off presents for children. In some places he arrives later, for example in Ochagavía – Otsagabia on the 27th and in Ermua on the 31st.
Article
9 sectionsContents
- The name
- The legend
- Modern customs and derivation
- Olentzero songs
- Olentzero
- Olentzero buru handia
- Notes
- References
- External links
thumb|185px|A figure of Olen being carried through the streets of Barakaldo Olentzero (, sometimes Olentzaro or Olantzaro and Olenchero) is a character in Basque Christmas tradition. According to Basque traditions, Olentzero comes to town late at night on 24 December to drop off presents for children. In some places he arrives later, for example in Ochagavía – Otsagabia on the 27th and in Ermua on the 31st.
==The name== The name Olentzero appears in a number of variations: Onenzaro, Onentzaro, Olentzaro, Ononzaro, Orentzago and others. The earliest records give the name as Onentzaro and the name is most likely composed of two elements, on "good" plus a genitive plural ending and the suffix -zaro which in Basque denotes a season (compare words like haurtzaro "childhood"), so "time of the good ones" literally. This suggests a derivation similar to the Spanish nochebuena.