Esteru

Esteru's float in the Three Kings Parade in Comillas, Cantabria.
Esteru in parade in the Three Kings Parade in Comillas, Cantabria.

The Esteru is a Christmas character from the oral tradition of Cantabria.

The Esteru is a big, warm hearted woodcutter with a beret, a smoking pipe and a long beard, who usually wears wooden albarcas and always takes his axe, his walking stick, and his loyal servant, el Burru (the Donkey). He represents kindness and goodness on the Earth. He lives in the forest in Cantabria and dedicates all year to cut wood, except on Christmas, when he manufactures the toys he will later deliver to all the homes in Cantabria.

Oral tradition about this character was documented in Ruiseñada, Comillas, a village in western Cantabria where Esteru is popular and appears every year in the Three Kings parade. Since then, the myth has spread throughout the region of Cantabria particularly in recent years. He is therefore, along with the anjanas, one of the most well-known symbols representing Christmas in Cantabria.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ El Esteru en el entrenamiento y Melchor, Gaspar y Baltasar en el partido de mañana.
  2. ↑ El Olentzero-Esteru en Cotolino.

External links

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