San Andrés chestnut nights 2016

[Janet]

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Just as in the UK it's conker time, November in Tenerife is a cosy and autumnal month with chestnuts roasting over many a live coal in braziers in the streets. The reason is a series of fairs in honour of San Andrés, the saint whose namesake St Andrew's feast day in Scotland is on 30 November. Here in Tenerife, though, it's celebrated on the 29th, though the fairs can take place several days either side of this.

All these autumn fiestas and fairs are all different, and often involve different ways of making as much noise with metal objects as possible, or even racing downhill on kitchen trays, but however they're celebrated, they all involve wine and, particularly, chestnuts. Most of Tenerife's chestnuts come from the Acentejo region of the north (see HERE), and the area always has a series of events throughout November to mark the period, one of the main ones being in La Victoria, where there's almost a whole month dedicated to chestnuts – this year's full programme is HERE.

There are always many San Andrés and chestnut-related events in south Tenerife too, and one of the main ones is in Valle San Lorenzo, which each year hosts a chestnuts, sweets and wines night in honour of San Andrés. This year's will be on Friday, 25 November, and as usual, many businesses throughout the town will be participating between 5 and 10pm.

[EckyThump 123]

According to this report the UK in the future might not have many Chestnut trees.

UK's conkers and horse chestnut trees under threat | The Independent
www.independent.co.uk › home-news
18 Oct 2016 - A combination of an exotic pest and a killer disease could threaten to wipe out the UK's conkers and horse chestnut trees within 15 years, it has been reported. The horse chestnut leaf miner moth, which first came to the UK in 2002, and the bleeding canker disease, are affecting ...

[Janet]

UK landscape is changing with Dutch elms, and now horse chestnuts ... and didn't I read recently about ash trees in danger?

[EckyThump 123]

UK landscape is changing with Dutch elms, and now horse chestnuts ... and didn't I read recently about ash trees in danger?

The Oak, Beech, Birch and Juniper are also under threat, it's 'thought' that climate change could be the cause, but as yet there is no proof of this as other factors like global trading may come in to account.

[Marion]

We have a huge horse chestnut tree in the park on the other side of the park from us. Kids are always having fun at this time hitting them down with sticks. And then the big boys start to help (their daddies!)

[Janet]

Granadilla and La Orotava have announced their own San Andrés chestnuts events now too, Granadilla's on Tuesday, 29 November, from 6pm in the Plaza González Mena (in front of the Ayuntamiento), and La Orotava's on Friday, 25 November from 7.30pm in the Plaza de la Constitución.

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Another major chestnut festival is again in the north, in La Matanza, whose programme is below: