Ceuta Day

Ceuta Day (Spanish: Día de Ceuta), celebrated in Ceuta on 2 September, is a holiday marking the date when Pedro de Meneses, 1st Count of Vila Real), became the first Governor of Ceuta by King John I of Portugal, following the Conquest of Ceuta.[1]

Día de Ceuta
Official nameDía de Ceuta
Observed byCeuta Ceuta
TypeNational holiday
DateSeptember 2
Next time2 September 2024 (2024-09-02)
Frequencyannual
Related toSeptember 2 1415 – Pedro de Meneses, 1st Count of Vila Real), became the first Governor of Ceuta by King John I of Portugal

Legend
Statue of Pedro de Meneses, in Ceuta.

(while John I of Portugal was canvassing for governors, the young Pedro was nearby, distractedly playing choca (a kind of Medieval hockey) with a stick of zambujeiro or Aleo (wild olive tree). Hearing all the high nobles making excuses to avoid the job, the young Pedro de Menezes stepped forward and approached the king with his gaming stick (aleo) in hand and told him that, with only that stick, he could defend Ceuta from all the power of Morocco.[2] As a result of this story, all future Portuguese governors of Ceuta would be presented with a zambujeiro staff as a symbol of their office upon their investiture.) The aleo that was used by Pedro is kept in the Church of Santa María de África in Ceuta, the statue of Mary holds the aleo.

'Aleu' or 'aleo' can be seen on the coat of arms of Alcoutim and Vila Real, where Pedro's descendants were made Count's of Alcoutim or Count's of Vila Real respectively.

References
  1. "Is Day of the Independent City of Ceuta a Public Holiday?". Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  2. "Eu só com este páu, sou capaz de defender Ceuta, de todo o poder dos mouros", as reported in Portugal antigo e moderno, 1878, p.495. Another recitation of the legend places it a little later, c. 1418, when Pedro de Menezes was visiting Lisbon. He was playing truque (a type of shuffleboard) in the king's court, when a messenger arrived with the news that the Marinids were assembling an army to retake Ceuta. The king ordered Pedro de Menezes (who was already governor of Ceuta) to return immediately to Ceuta, and promised that he (the king) would do what he could to dispatch reinforcements. D. Pedro de Menezes held up his shuffleboard stick and told the king not to hurry the reinforcements, that he could fend off the might of Morocco with that stick alone. See Z.N. Gonçalves Brandão, 1883, Monumentos e lendas de Santarem , p.514


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