Olentzero 2026: who he is and where to see him in the Basque Country

Who Olentzero is

Olentzero is a charcoal burner who lives in the mountains — tradition places him in the Aralar range — and who comes down to the villages on Christmas Eve to announce the birth and hand out presents. He is pictured as a heavy-set man with a coal-blackened face, a txapela on his head and a pipe in his hand. His helpers are the Galtzagorris, imps of the forest.

He is accompanied by Mari Domingi, a female figure recovered from the Basque folk songbook, who appears in traditional dress. In today's parades the two always travel together, and in many places it is her the children hand their letters to.

If you have just arrived and are trying to fit the pieces together: in many Basque households Olentzero brings the presents on the night of the 24th, and the Three Kings still come on 6 January. It is not one or the other. A good many children here get presents from both, and nobody finds that contradictory.

The kalejiras: 23 and 24 December

Almost every town and neighbourhood runs its own kalejira — a parade — in which Olentzero and Mari Domingi make their way through the streets on a cart, surrounded by children, while the Olentzero songs are sung. It is a free, very family-oriented street event.

In the two capitals, the pattern in recent years has been this:

• Bilbao, the afternoon of 23 December. The parade leaves Plaza Moyúa for the Plaza del Arriaga at around 5.30pm, after the traditional greeting from the balcony of the Hotel Carlton. The next day, Olentzero and Mari Domingi receive children inside the Arriaga Theatre to collect the last letters.
• San Sebastián, 24 December. The day is split between neighbourhood visits in the morning, a central arrival at midday, letter collection in the afternoon and a large parade at nightfall.

These are recent patterns, not confirmed 2026 times: the councils publish the programme in December. As soon as our sources pick it up, the individual events will appear at the top of this page.

Practical advice

• Arrive early and carry the child, or put them on your shoulders. Kalejiras are hard to see from the height of a five-year-old, and the route fills up.
• The letter. If your children are going to hand over a letter, write it at home. On the route you will have neither a free hand nor any light.
• It is cold and it is late in the day. Waterproofs: it is Christmas Eve on the Cantabrian coast.
• The songs. There is an Olentzero song sung at every kalejira that your child has probably already learned at school. It is worth recognising it.
• If you live in a village, go to your village's. It is usually a far better plan than heading into the capital: fewer people, closer to home, and the children find their classmates there.

What comes next

Olentzero opens a long week of festivities: Christmas Day, New Year's Eve — with San Silvestre runs in several cities —, New Year's Day and the Three Kings parade on 5 January, the other great children's date of the winter.