So this weekend was a very exciting one for Valencia. The entire Community of Valencia (including Castellón, Valencia and Alicante) celebrated what is comparable to American's Independence Day, or some other day of pride.
The day commemorates when King Jamie I entered the city October 9th, 1238 and conquered the Moors. Now, the Moors and Christians had battled for Spain for many years and in 1238, the area of Valencia was under Islamic rule for 5 centuries now.
After Jamie I of Aragon's takeover, the city was based on the Christian religion which allowed for rapid development of holidays, customs, language and of course, taxes.
Now years later, the 9th of October, the entire Valencian community celebrates this day with dancing, singing, flag waving, marzipan, fireworks, moors, and christians. Later in the day of the 9th, there is a parade and reinactment of the Moors vs. Christians debacle which I missed because I was en route to Madrid, but I know there are more later in the year in other cities I am determined to get to!
In schools like mine that still speak only Valencian and have a strong sense of Valencian pride, there is lots of fun in store!
Rehearsal and preparation for the festivities starts weeks in advance. Murals are constructed, projects are made, reports are written, stories are told etc. Here is the banner I spent a lot of my 16 hour week working on (ok, so i just painted some of it!)
Now, the students have been preparing dances and performances for weeks now. They use props, and they dance to this semi obnoxious instrument called a Doçaina which is the popular Valencian instrument. This instrument looks and sounds somewhat like a bagpipe, without the bag. You will be able to sample some in the following video
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| 5th level students dancing to the Valencian Doçaina |
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| Group of Doçaina's playing for our schools' celebration |
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| 5 year olds dressed as Moors and Christians |
On Saturday, herds of people gather at the Plaza de Ayutanamiento (city hall) for the annual ceremony. We arrived at about 11:30 am to try and get a good spot before things kicked off at noon. The Spanish Army marched out, along with the Spanish Army band. Then the mayor made her appearance outside. However, the main attraction did not start until the clock struck 12, literally.
When the clock struck, the mayor and her helpers wearing white gloves, carefully lowered the Senyera (Valencian flag) over the balcony. This flag is very old and must be handled with care. I am told that it could be the flag Jaime brought into the city in the 1200's, but we might have just made that up.
But wait, what would a holiday be without food!?!?!?! The celebratory 9 de Octubre snack is something amazing called Marzipan. Why marzipan and what is it?
Well, when Jamie conquered the city, the citizens were so grateful that they offered him all they had: fruits, veggies, and bread.. wrapped in what else but a scarf!
Now, the 9th of October is also St Donis day in the Catholic world. So now marzipan is associated with St Donis as well and people give Marzipan wrapped in scarves to their loved ones on this day (St. Valentines day anyone?)
Now because we dont have loved ones here in Valencia, we all put in some money and got ourselves some delicious Marzipan from our local Pasteleria which we ate for breakfast and post drinking snacks.
Here is a recipe I found for Marzipan. I can not vouch for how good it is. I will have to ask my school for their recipe!
3 cups whole almonds, blanched and ground
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
3-4 Tbsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
In a saucepan, heat water and sugar until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Let it boil steadily without stirring the temperature reaches 230-234 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and beat until mixture turns slightly cloudy. Stir in ground almonds, egg whites, and vanilla. Cook over gentle heat for 2-3 minutes or until mixture pulls away from sides of pan. Turn mixture onto a surface that has been sprinkled with some of the powdered sugar. Knead the mixture until smooth, working in the rest of the powdered sugar. Pull off pieces and roll into balls or olive-shaped pieces. Wrap in foil or wax paper and store in airtight container.
P.S. my school also of course joins in the Marzipan fun. Here is one 1st grader REALLY loving the process!!!
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