31/12/2022
St. James – a Watery Saint for the 21st century
Each year on the 30th of December, the Catholic Church in Santiago celebrates the miraculous translation of St. James from Jerusalem to the shores of Galicia by way of a boat guided by the hand of God. Behind this carefully crafted and officially sanctioned story lay a series of popular myths – how the Saint sailed on a rock from Jaffa to Galicia to bring the mission to the Spanish People and many others.
Perhaps this curious double-layered story of his translation reveals his true status as a Celtic and watery Saint?
Hence the return to the final closure is experienced by people not walking to walking to Santiago de Compostela, but all the way to Finesterra. Here the stick is thrown into the water, the obligatory seashells are collected, and the stars are contemplated. Perhaps, St. James has once more been rekindled as a Celtic watery saint?
Each year on the 30th of December, Spain celebrates the miraculous translation of St. James from Jerusalem to the shores of Galicia.