Traditions and customs of Andorra
What traditions and customs are there in Andorra?
The customs and traditions of the country in the Pyrenees, Andorra.
Gastronomy
Food in daily life
The diet in Andorra is based on the consumption of meat, vegetables and some fish. The most common winter dish, in rural and urban areas, is escudella, a beef, chicken, potato and vegetable soup. Some immigrant communities have different customs: The Portuguese eat more cod and Indians, more vegetarian food. Normally, the midday meal is eaten near the workplace in a restaurant.
Food customs on ceremonial occasions
Many Catholic families still avoid eating meat on Fridays. On the feast of the Virgin of Meritxell, Andorran families usually eat outdoors after the solemn midday mass: they eat cold cuts, chicken and rabbit. The Christmas cycle is also an occasion for the organization of family meals.
Religion
Religious beliefs
Although Andorra lacks a formal religion, Roman Catholicism is hegemonic. A fundamental element of this presence is the role of the Bishop of Urgell as co-prince and, at the same time, head of the Andorran Church. Apart from Jehovah’s Witnesses, there are no public religious alternatives in Andorra.
Rituals and Holy Places
All public ceremonies, including some sessions of Parliament, are accompanied by a Catholic mass. The Andorran festive calendar is adapted to the Catholic liturgical calendar, and the nation, like every parish, has a patron saint and a collection of religious and secular celebrations.
Secular celebrations
In addition to the national festival of the Virgin of Meritxell (September 8), each parish has its own patron saint festival. Given the nation’s commercial orientation (it remains open for business, especially when neighboring nations have holidays), the only formal holidays are Christmas and New Years.
Arts and Humanities
Arts support
Both the State and the communal administrations support artistic training and creativity. Music conservatories and art schools are scattered throughout the country.
Literature
Andorran literary production does not cross the borders of the small country, except in the case of the writer A. Morell. However, there are groups of historians and folklorists interested in recovering oral traditions and in studying and teaching the nation’s history.
Performing arts
In music, the two great figures of classical music, the Claret brothers, who play the cello and the violin, have acquired great prestige throughout Europe.
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