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The Botafumeiro is a show. Attendance at masses would drop dramatically if there were no Botafumeiro. Disneyland charges for its spectacles; the Cathedral is free (though someone is paying 300 Euro anytime that the Botafumeiro swings except at the times above). If you can let the behavior of others upset your enjoyment of your spirituality, it may be time to walk a little longer. I love the Botafumeiro!The Botafumeiro (thurible) is not a spectacle, nor the only thing to see in the Cathedral of Santiago. Today it remains as an integral part of the Eucharistic Celebration during specific days of the year or when there is an offering made by a group.
The following is a list of the days that the Botafumeiro can be seen in some of the masses given at the main altar:
Epiphany of the Lord – January 6th
Easter Sunday and the Resurrection – Holy Week
Ascension of Our Lord – Forty Days after Easter
Celebration of the Apparition of the Apostle
Pentecost Sunday- Fifty days after Easter
Martyrdom of the Apostle Saint James – July 25th
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin – August 15th
All Saints Day – November 1st
Feast of Christ King – Fifth Sunday before Christmas
Immaculate Conception – December 8th
Nativity of our Lord – December 25th
Transfer of the remains of the Apostle – December 30th
chrisinvermont said:We came to an early mass the next day. It was beautiful.
June 'n Chris
I don't speak Spanish, so at a mass, I watch what the little white-haired lady does, and follow her guide. She applauded the botafumeiro at the cathedral, and I don't think of her as either having decayed values, or a tawdry culture.The decay in values seems to be widespread, and a tawdry culture is the norm for many.
sillydoll said:Perhaps this IS the accepted behaviour for the cathedral - and always has been? ...
...It seems that cheering and clapping is certainly not new and we, of the 21st century can’t really describe it as a “drop in standards” or a ‘decay in values’ when those standards and values have always been there.
sillydoll said:Perhaps this IS the accepted behaviour for the cathedral - and always has been?
Anyone who has read historical books on the cathedral will know that things were even more irreverent and chaotic in the middle ages! In the 15th c, Jerónimo Munzer from Nuremberg described the goings on and hubbub in the cathedral as so great that “he would have believed himself at a fair.”
The cathedral was a loud, noisy place, with pilgrims from different nations fighting and squabbling to position themselves close to the altar, singing and dancing to their musical instruments.
Walter Starkie writes about the golden age of the pilgrimage when there were all night vigils in the cathedral and thousands of pilgrims regularly waged battles inside the cathedral - sometimes so severe that blood was spilled and the cathedral had to be re-consecrated.
Early accounts of the cathedral refer to pilgrims lighting fires and cooking food in the cathedral and even bivouacking inside with their cows and horses!
Some reports describe “conducted tours of loutish pilgrims tramping in serried crowds through the basilica, tripping over the kneeling penitents outside the confessionals.” And while this crowd pushed and butted their way around the cathedral, the congregation tried to follow the celebrant of the mass at the high altar.
It seems that cheering and clapping is certainly not new and we, of the 21st century can’t really describe it as a “drop in standards” or a ‘decay in values’ when those standards and values have always been there.
falcon269 said:I don't speak Spanish, so at a mass, I watch what the little white-haired lady does, and follow her guide. She applauded the botafumeiro at the cathedral, and I don't think of her as either having decayed values, or a tawdry culture.The decay in values seems to be widespread, and a tawdry culture is the norm for many.
falcon269 said:Notwithstanding this notice by the Cathedral:
The Botafumeiro is a show. Attendance at masses would drop dramatically if there were no Botafumeiro. Disneyland charges for its spectacles; the Cathedral is free (though someone is paying 300 Euro anytime that the Botafumeiro swings except at the times above). If you can let the behavior of others upset your enjoyment of your spirituality, it may be time to walk a little longer. I love the Botafumeiro!The Botafumeiro (thurible) is not a spectacle, nor the only thing to see in the Cathedral of Santiago. Today it remains as an integral part of the Eucharistic Celebration during specific days of the year or when there is an offering made by a group.
The following is a list of the days that the Botafumeiro can be seen in some of the masses given at the main altar:
Epiphany of the Lord – January 6th
Easter Sunday and the Resurrection – Holy Week
Ascension of Our Lord – Forty Days after Easter
Celebration of the Apparition of the Apostle
Pentecost Sunday- Fifty days after Easter
Martyrdom of the Apostle Saint James – July 25th
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin – August 15th
All Saints Day – November 1st
Feast of Christ King – Fifth Sunday before Christmas
Immaculate Conception – December 8th
Nativity of our Lord – December 25th
Transfer of the remains of the Apostle – December 30th
sillydoll said:No! Definitely not. I could be burned as a witch! No cows and horses, no food fires, no running battles or bloodshed. The clapping and flashing camera bulbs never put me off though.
I LOVE Santiago cathedral, it is truly a pilgrimage cathedral. I try to picture it as Aimery Picaud described it. The tapestries have gone, and the altar canopy might be different, and the three lamps are no longer there but it is essentially the same 'space' as the 12th c priest described it. The best time to visit is when it is quiet and empty. That is when you hear the whispers and sighs of pilgrims past. Magical place.
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