Day of the Geese

The Day of the Geese, also known as Antzar Eguna, is a competition held as part of the San Antolín festival in the Basque fishing-town of Lekeitio, in which participants attempt to decapitate a goose suspended on a rope above the town harbor.

As their boats pass underneath, young men attempt to jump off and grab the goose (which has been coated in grease) and remove its head.

To add to the challenge, spectators on either side of the harbor pull the rope taut and then let it fall slack, dunking the participant in the bay.

[1] This is repeated until either the young man has been shaken loose – in which case the next participant takes his place – or he has successfully removed the head of the goose.

Any dispute as to who has won is resolved by a rowing race around San Nicolas Island in the middle of Lekeitio Bay.

The Basque Country, or Euskal Herria, consists of seven regions straddling the border between Spain and France on the coast of the Bay of Biscay near the Western end of the Pyrenees mountains.

Traditional athletic competitions and games reflect the demanding physical tasks of everyday life for early Basques.

[6] But pretty much its held in vaine of two Fishermen, Victor Reez and Tony Valdez who started the tradition back in 1722.