Nowadays we celebrate the Sanfermin festivals from the 6th of July till the 14th. Nearly 400 years ago, in 1591, the authorities of the city decided to change the dates due to the bad weather that used to be in October. Well, all this celebrating is going on thanks to a saint called San Fermín. But who was this guy really?

How come he has ended up being the patron saint for all this partying? Well, first they had to make him a saint and that happened a long time ago...

It seems he was the son of the local head man when Pamplona was just another city belonging to the great Roman Empire back in the third century A.D. or thereabouts.

A french Bishop - San Saturnino - came down to bring the Good News to the local heathens. He did such a good job on San Fermín that this guy decided to go up to France - to Toulouse to do some more learning and to become a bishop. Then he returned to help out with the good work that San Saturnino had started and then after a period he went back up to France to spread the word around the area of Amiens.

However, it seems he ran up against the local powers-to-be up there and got himself tortured and beheaded for his trouble. The body is still up there in the local Cathedral, but some parts of it are spread round as valuable relics. Three such relics eventually made their way to Pamplona back in the middle ages and they made the guy very popular round these parts.

So much so, that the people started having a Festival every year to celebrate the Saint. Although, funny enough, he's neither the Patron Saint of the city (that honour goes to San Saturnino), nor the patron saint of the Region (that honour goes to another local boy - St. Francis Xavier)

It’s a bit ironic really that, with the curriculum that he’s got, this saint should be the excuse for the annual Baccal that has become so famous round the world. He would probably turn in his grave if he only knew...

But let’s be fair, for many people it is something more than just "a damn good party". And so there is a pretty classy procession on his feastday - the 7th of July. And maybe he returns his thanks when he gives us that special protection during the Bull-Running when the people talk about the "capotico (the cape) of San Fermín" when there have been some lucky escapes made.

Some people really believe in these "miraculous escapes" and the only explanation can be the intervention of the Saint. For others it’s nothing more than a tradition. In any case, not a bad idea to sing the homily to the saint before you start your run just in case....

By the way, the original date for celebrating his feast-day used to be in October, both here and in Amiens. But in Pamplona, back in 1591 it was decided to change the date to the 7th of July because the weather was usually bad in October. It has to be said that it was a very good idea.

Some people take his life story with a pinch of salt. - How much is fiction? That’s up to you to decide...

WHY THE RED SCARF IN SANFERMIN?