Festa popular de Sant Antoni

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The Festa popular de Sant Antoni ( Catalan , Castilian : Fiesta popular de San Antonio ) is a popular festival in honor of St. Anthony and is celebrated on the entire Balearic Islands on January 17th every year. On the eve of the day, on January 16, large fires (foguerons) are lit in the towns and villages, in the glow of which the masked people dance and burn devil dolls as a victory over the evil devil (dimoni) . Accompanied by music, singing and suggestive sayings, this game continues into the morning hours. There are numerous songs with Mallorcan texts that are still played and sung today: tonada de Sant Antoni (songs of St. Anthony).

The typical Dimoni mask

With the fire as protection from vice and temptation, the "fire of abstinence", all the legends about Sant Antoni Abad are closely connected. The saint was born in Egypt in 251 . He is considered the first Christian monk and lived praying and fasting in the Theban desert. As befits a monk, he was tempted several times by the devil in the form of a woman in his hermitage . To protect himself, he lit fire and ran - pain as a weapon against lust - through the embers .

Antony's reputation as the patron saint of animals is based on his mercy towards animals. The legend is told: A pig (cerdo) once gave birth to a weak, small piglet that could hardly stand on its legs. Antonius blessed it, after which it could run again. This piglet was so grateful to the saint that it went with him from now on.

In the early hours of January 17th, when the fires in the villages are still glowing, preparations are made for a sumptuous lunch. A lot of visitors are expected on this day. Typical is the Mallorcan eel dish (espinagada) , a sheet cake with vegetables and freshwater eel , which is served to celebrate the day. Since St. Anthony is the patron saint of animals, animal blessings , the Beneïdes , take place in many places after the mass .

literature

  • Portada del primer llibre de Sant Antoni d'Artà Any 1686 Archive directory: ARM-C-1663 - first records from the archive in Artà
  • Antoni Gilli: Sant Antoni Abat, Festa popular d'Artà , Palma 1997, ISBN 84-89067-11-2

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ You shouldn't miss that at Sant Antoni! (January 10, 2019)