Why is Aberri Eguna celebrated? Origin, where and in Ireland... and Sicily

Pamplona, 26 March 1967. In the midst of Francoism. The Ikurriña is banned and the Aberri Eguna must be celebrated underground. Nationalist parties such as the PNV and the CAV, however, have called for the march to Pamplona. Other parties and trade unions have joined the call: from the PSOE to Republican Action and from ELA to CNT or UGT.

Unexpectedly, three Ikurriñas appear from below the sky, hanging in parachutes. The attendees respond with joy. And the Francoist police with repression.

When he was born in Bilbao in 1932, he was marked by religious references and even looked to Ireland or Sicily. But the denial would cause him to acquire his own personality in the coming decades, and to be integrated into Basque society, even though it was a celebration of which there are still many doubts.

Reasons for the First Aberri Eguna

UPV/EHU History Professor Mikel Aizpuru has explained that while the reasons that led him to celebrate the first Aberri Eguna are quite clear, doubts accumulate about the choice of the exact date: Resurrection Sunday.

"The main objective of this first celebration was to celebrate the golden weddings of Basque nationalism. That year, 1932, it was 50 years since the famous interview between Sabino and Luis Arana in 1882, in which Sabino joined nationalism, and the PNV also wanted to celebrate the inauguration of Sabin Etxea as its official headquarters," he said.

The Basque nationalists wanted to demonstrate their ability to mobilise and set a day dedicated to the country, as did many other nationalist movements. After the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, the context of the Second Republic allowed its celebration; and, moreover, the debate on the Basque Statute was in full swing after the clash of the Estella Statute with the Republican Constitution.

Reasons for selection

The context is more confusing with the choice of date. "The conversation between Luis and Sabino Arana probably took place in the summer, as Luis was studying in Madrid. The anniversary was not exactly on that date," says Aizpuru.

"Resurrection Sunday is a special date for Catholics, and that in itself is a compelling reason. The celebration was somehow associated with the idea of the resurrection of the homeland. Moreover, for the nationalism of the time there was a date of great symbolism, which was also associated with the Easter Uprising in Ireland in 1916," he explains.

According to Aizpuru, the article published by jeltzale leader Jesús Zabala in the newspaper "Nacion Vasca", published in Argentina, in which Zabala refers, in addition to the religious factor, to the case of Ireland: "We Basque nationalists still remember the emotions felt in the face of the Fenian uprising."

Zabala also received a more curious historical reference: the Eve of Sicily, the uprising of the inhabitants of the island in 1282 to expel the French. "Resurrection Sunday is a day of evocative memories for the patriots (...). In all the cities of Sicily the indignation of the people spread, and the French soldiers fell under the swords of a people weary of foreign pride," he wrote.

Beyond these symbolic references, Zabala made clear his opposition to violence: "The Easter we want to celebrate is not what the Sicilians and the Irish did with blood. Our desire is peace. We have far away material violence."

Bearing in mind that Zabala was one of the most prominent of those who organised the first Aberri Eguna, his article is eloquent and makes it clear that the Irish reference is not a recent invention, as has often been said.

On the other hand, according to Aizpuru, the choice might have other practical reasons, since the date was set between the beginning of the year and the day of St. Ignatius.

As an anti-Franco reference

Although Francoism violently interrupted the celebration of the Aberri Eguna, repression had the opposite effect on the Franchists.

"In exile, especially in America, the Aberri Eguna became a feast of all patriots, beyond the PNV. Then, at the Aberri Eguna of Itsasu in 1963, in Iparralde, there were both militants of Enbata and members of ETA, such as Iulen Madariaga," says Aizpuru.

Although it was closely linked to patriotism, in the 1960s it also spread to other political cultures as it became a reference for anti-Francoism, such as the 1964 edition of Gernika or 1967 in Pamplona.

This broad, transversal, and anti-regime character was maintained even in the early years of the transition, but gradually faded later, as the differences between the parties were too deep.

In recent years, there has been a debate about the celebration, and some voices have been in favour of seeking another symbolic reference. For the time being, in the absence of a new agreement, the date set 94 years ago is maintained, although time has given it a new identity.