2024Festivities of National Tourist Interest - The Vijanera, Silio, Cantabria - Set

Correos begins a new philatelic series dedicated to the Festivities of National Tourist Interest with the issue of the stamp to the festivity of La Vijanera. The Vijanera is a tradition that is celebrated every first Sunday of the year, as long as it does not coincide with the new year, in the town of Silió. It is one of the most representative cultural samples of the autonomous community of Cantabria and the one that has greater impact outside its borders. Its origins are uncertain, although it is certainly a rite related to the most atavistic beliefs of human beings. Proof of this is its relationship with the thousands of winter masquerades that take place throughout the European continent, mainly from December to January. The more than 80 documented characters and 160 vijaneros symbolize through a series of established roles the gradual lengthening of the days that occurs from the winter solstice. The main events are: the children's vijanera held the day before, the ringing of the bells, the capture of the Bear, the defense of the Raya, the Coplas, the birth of the Preñá and the death of the Bear. As for its characters, the Bear and the Zarramacos stand out, representing one of the oldest layers of the tradition. Another important group is that of the Trapajones made with natural elements that represent the return to life of the still life at this time. The ragmen, frames, professions represented... form a homogeneous whole that stands out for its colorfulness and symbolism. Everything in the festival is a struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, wealth and poverty... The Vijanera is recognized as an Intangible Ethnographic Cultural Interest and today is one of the hallmarks of the town of Silió. Thanks to this and the rest of seasonal rites that make our town the one that preserves more traditions of Cantabria, the current vijaneros fight to maintain the memory of their elders while instilling the values of this traditional culture to the new generations.