This is a really special day for locals!. It dates back to the mid 19th century, when the "baserritarras (inhabitants of the farmhouses), used to go to town to pay their yearly rent to the owners of the land they worked. They used to sell their agricultural products and get the things they could not get locally. Urban and rural communities would meet on this day to exchange products for the upcoming Christmas festivities.
This is the way this important festivity started, and the day still continues being celebrated as one of the biggest for the city. Today, that traditional reason has disappeared, but you can still expect to see vendors and shoppers wearing traditional Basque rural clothes, remembering the roots of the market.
Every 21st of December, the city turns into an enormous country market of which the absolute star is the txistorra (fresh chorizo-like sausage). Stalls are set up all over the city, offering all sorts of food and craft wares, mostly produced by the people from the local farmhouses. These include cheese, honey, txistorra sausage, cider and cakes.
La Plaza de la constitución (Constitucion square) in the Old Town, is a must in Santo Tomas. Go and enjoy the atmosphere there! Spot the big pig and all the stalls, try "talo con txistorra" (kind of pancake made with corn flour filled with fresh chorizo) and drink cider.
Bear in mind that this is a must for everyone, so the best option to avoid the crowd is to go before 11:00 am.
If you go to Plaza de Okendo you will be able to see the exhibition of different animals.
