Andorran Education and Citizenship
In Andorra, education is compulsory up to the age of 16 and Andorrans have the possibility of freely choosing an education system between the Catalan, Castilian and French systems, all three of which are considered to be of very high quality. Nowadays, the Andorran system caters for 39% of schoolchildren, the French system 31%, followed by the Spanish system and 30% of Andorran children. These figures are quite impressive when you consider that at the beginning of the 1990s the Andorran system only took in a minority of children. Today, the three schools have a similar attendance rate. This unique school organization explains the excellent level of French of many Andorrans.
With regard to citizenship, since the law of 27 May 2004, the rules for obtaining Andorran citizenship have been much clearer. Thus, a child born in Andorra automatically becomes an Andorran citizen if one of his or her parents is Andorran or if he or she resides in Andorra on a permanent and documented basis; or if one of the foreign parents has his or her main and permanent residence in Andorra at the time of the child's birth. It is also possible to acquire citizenship if you have resided permanently in Andorra for more than 20 years. However, the Principality of Andorra does not allow dual nationality, so the choice can sometimes be difficult for some.
Festivals and traditions
As small as it is, Andorra has never had an identity complex: the principality obtained its unique status in the 13th century, well before the French Republic! Thus, most of its traditions are not new and continue to be strongly perpetuated year after year, shining with all their lights during the festivals organized by each village. During the summer, the Andorrans, deprived by the winter of opportunities to meet, multiply the festivities from June to August, especially with the festes majors (big festivals), giving rise to popular dances, concerts, street shows, sports competitions, but also traditional dance competitions that can last up to four days in some villages.
These popular and traditional Catalan dances are performed by the Esbarts dansaires (folklore groups), combining representations of mountain customs with contemporary dance, such as the marratxa, danced by a man and three women during the festa major de Sant Julià, or the contrapàs, performed during Holy Week by men forming a chain and singing laments from the episode of the Passion of Christ. Autumn and winter are more limited to the end-of-year celebrations, except for the celebration of chestnuts on All Saints' Day. Christmas is a very busy time: all the parishes organise parades and fairs.
