Food of Medieval Spain
Many Spaniards at the time did not eat and drink elaborately. They were modest in their taste. Most were more concerned with food that would be good for one's health, rather than food with no nutritional value. Feasts at the end of the harvest season, however, included traditional foods such as cookies, sweet rolls, codfish, and roasted chestnuts.
Festivals of the Time
The Spainiards enjoyed many "fiestas", including holy days. Christmas in particular was a season where Christians performed Nativity plays sometimes including real shepherds and sheep. Another exciting time was the period just before Lent. The people filled the streets with a carnival atmosphere as they danced and reveled in the season. To honor Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus' followers, men of Anguiano would dance on stilts wearing long skirts that would swirl out as they spun. The festival of San Fermine that took place in Pamplona in Navarre, included a tradition where bulls were released in the streets. Young men would run in front of the bulls in hope of reaching the bullring alive where they would then fight the bulls.