piment d'espelette

[French] plural piments d'espelette

Local fresh chillis in the Pays-Basque. This deep red chilli is celebrated each October in Espelette with a festival which started in the 60s. Houses throughout the town are decorated with festoons of them. On Sunday morning a mass is held to celebrate the harvest, and then a new member of the Guild is sworn in, taking an oath to defend the chilli.

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