Holidays become commercialized with time, as is evident with the most recent holiday, Halloween, which has lost its original religious aspect and has instead become an excuse to dress provocatively and throw parties. The origins of holidays are often forgotten and as a result holidays lose their importance and instead become a time for having fun and getting candy or presents. Currently, an old holiday is being introduced in a new way to the United States, and it is already diverging from its origins.
The Festival of San Fermín is a Spanish holiday that dates back to the Middle Ages. It is in honor of San Fermín, a saint born in Pamplona, Spain who was arrested and condemned to death for preaching the Gospel. To honor him, people in Pamplona celebrate with music, dance, bull runs and bullfights.
The Great Bull Run that now takes place in Petersburg, Va. is meant to be a variation of the Festival of San Fermin, and is described on its website as an event that “brings the Spanish tradition of the running of the bulls to the United States.” Rob Dickens and business partner Brad Scudder, the creators of the Great Bull Run, seem to not understand the religious context of San Fermin and have instead created a new, Americanized version of the running of the bulls. Even as the tradition is lost, thousands of people pay as much as $85 to run with the bulls at the Great Bull Run, recklessly risking their lives. And for what? It has no meaning to them other than being a bit of fun — and dangerous fun at that.
Participants are not allowed to hit or slap the bulls, and visibly intoxicated attendees are not allowed to run. However, there is beer supplied to the participants at the event and there is also a good chance participants will touch a bull, because the event features hundreds of people running in close quarters together. The alcohol, combined with the angry, running bulls, does not seem like a safe combination. But that is not much of a worry to Dickens, who told a Buzzfeed reporter: “I don’t consider someone getting injured to be something going wrong … After Virginia, we listened to our customers, and the number-one complaint was that there wasn’t enough danger … So we’ve increased the number of bulls.”
While the pointless danger is a good reason to end this event, it is not the only reason. Another problem with the Bull Run is the anger arising from animal activists. In a letter to the USDA, Ann Chynoweth, senior director of the Humane Society of the United States’ End Animal Cruelty and Fighting campaign, called the Great Bull Run a “shameful example of cruelty for the sake of nothing more than entertainment and profit.” This is true; the run, which has no cultural significance, yet claims to be bringing “the Spanish tradition” to the U.S., puts not only the people in danger, but also puts the bulls at risk for great distress and fear — all for nothing but pure entertainment.
Despite the event’s many flaws, Dickens and Scudder announced that they will spread it around the country, making this Pamplona staple a mobile event that no longer is distinctive to Spain. This will be a difficult task, as the Bull Run is only one part of the weeklong annual celebration in honor of San Fermin and is specific to this small city in Spain’s northern Basque region. The Great Bull Run is less an event based on deeply rooted tradition and more of an event based on the reckless, thrilling danger that participants are willing to pay for.
Recreating a cultural event with centuries of history based in one specific place is a difficult task, especially if you ignore the event’s religious origins and try to manipulate it to fit a sellable description. Like most holidays, the Festival of San Fermín is becoming a victim of commercialization. The festive spirit of the celebration of San Fermín is not something that can be successfully imported, as it is deeply rooted in Pamplona, Spain, not Petersburg, Va.
Meredith Berger is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. Her columns run Mondays.
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