The Bonfires of San Juan award system
We understand by award system the set of titles, distinctions and prizes available to an Entity to recognize the merits contracted by Institutions, Entities and individuals, distinguished by helping to fulfill the statutory purposes of the Entity that grants them.
The award system of the Promoting Commission of the Bonfires of San Juan, contained in the “Regulation of acts, precedence, award of distinctions and identifying signs”, is constituted based on the granting of titles of honor and distinctions.
In the section of titles of honor, the following are established:
Honorary President
Meiga Mayor
Meiga Mayor of Honor
Meiga Mayor Infantil
Honorific Major Meiga
Veteran Major Meiga
Chairman of the Honor Committee
Member of the Honor Committee
Honorific Meiga of Honor
Meiga of Honor
Meiga de Honor Infantil
Honor Partner
Regarding the distinctions, the following are available:
Gold medal
Golden Thistle, individual modality
Golden Thistle, collective modality
Meiga Mayor’s distinctive medal
Distinctive Medal of Major Meiga of Honor
Distinctive medal of Meiga Mayor Infantil
Silver medal
Silver Thistle, individual modality
Silver Thistle, collective modality
Bronze Thistle, collective modality
Bronze Medal, distinctive of member of the Board of Directors
Medal of the Ace. De Meigas, distinctive of member of the Board of Directors
Distinctive Medal of Honor Honor Meiga
Distinctive Meiga of Honor Medal
Title of Official Body of the Commission
The award system of the Promoting Commission of the Bonfires of San Juan, has its origin in 1973 with the establishment of the “Silver Thistle” in recognition, of an ordinary nature, to the work carried out by individuals to safeguard the essences and traditions of the night of San Juan in our city.
Likewise, in this year 1973, the figure of Honorary President of the Promoting Commission was created, with an extraordinary character, naming Lieutenant General Carlos Fernández Vallespín, Captain General of Galicia, as the first to hold this honorary distinction.
For many years, both the title of Honorary President, with an extraordinary character, and the ordinary award of the “Silver Thistle”, became the backbone of the recognitions to be awarded by the Promoting Commission, being in 1994 when the “Golden Thistle” is established as the highest distinction, of an ordinary nature, that the Entity can grant.
In 1999, the “Bronze Medal” or distinctive of member of the Board of Directors of the Promoting Commission was created, which is awarded, by way of assignment, on the occasion of the performance of the position.
In 2001, the “Gold Medal” was established, the highest distinction, of an extraordinary nature, which can be awarded by the Commission and which can only be awarded to Honorary Presidents, if they are appointed.
That same year, the “Silver Medal” was created, which can be awarded exclusively, on an extraordinary basis, to active members or former members of the Board of Directors of the Promoting Commission.
In 2003, the distinctive Medals of “Meiga Mayor”, “Meiga de Honor” and “Meiga de Honor Honorífica” were created. The first two are granted, by way of assignment, to be used during the fiscal year for which the Meiga Mayor and the Meigas de Honor were appointed, becoming definitively creditable, at the end of this period, those that stand out in the exercise of their functions, imposing on them, as property, the distinctive Medal of “Meiga Mayor”, to those who have held this position, and “Meiga de Honor Honorifica” to those who have been named Meigas de Honor.
In 2008, the title and the Medal of “Meiga Mayor de Honor” are created, to which they can become creditors, in accordance with the Regulations, Institutions, Entities and individuals of the female sex that are determined. This title is shared with the Association of Meigas de las Hogueras de San Juan.
In 2013, the distinctive Medal of “Meiga Mayor Infantil” was created, to distinguish those who, having been named, in their day, Meigas Mayor Infantiles, once they reached the age of 16, continue to be linked to the Promoting Commission of the Bonfires of San Juan, in directive or collaboration tasks.
Also in 2013, the “Thistles” were created in the collective modality, establishing them in the categories of Gold, Silver and Bronze, to distinguish with them Institutions and Entities that have actively collaborated with the Promoting Commission, throughout 15, 10 and 5 years, uninterrupted, respectively.
Likewise, the Promoting Commission of the Bonfires of San Juan, can grant the following titles of honor:
President of the Honor Committee, established in 1994 and Member of the Honor Committee, of the same date as the previous one.
Honorary Member, title created in 1997.
Title of “Official body of the Commission”, created in 2013.
For its part, the Association of Meigas de las Hogueras de las Hogueras de San Juan, has the following distinctions:
Title of “Honorific Major Meiga”, created in 2018.
Title of “Sanjuanero de Honor”, created in 2019.
Distinctive medal of member of the Board of Directors of the Association, created in 2015.
Regarding the design of the Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals, all of them are made on an oval with a blue background, highlighting, as a central motif, the flower of the Thistle of Saint John in gold, which also constitutes the figure of the “Thistles ”In all its forms, as this flower is the emblem adopted by the Promoting Commission.
The different categories of these Medals are distinguished by the color of the cord to which they are attached, these being the following:
Gold medal, supported by a red and gold cord.
Silver medal, supported by a blue and red cord.
Bronze medal. Being the distinctive of Executive of the Promoting Commission, it is established in two subcategories, one for the President, pending a red and gold cord, and another, for the rest of the Directors, with a blue and gold cord.
On the other hand, the Medals of Meiga Mayor, Meiga Mayor of Honor, Meiga Mayor for Children, Meiga of Honor Honor, Meiga of Honor and Director of the Association of Meigas, are made, on a white oval, having as a central image, the logo of the FIREPLACES , in their original colors, each of them also being differentiated by the color of the cords that hold them, which are the following:
Distinctive medal of Meiga Mayor, supported by a red and gold cord.
Distinctive medal of Meiga Mayor of Honor, supported by a red and gold cord.
Distinctive Meiga Mayor Infantil medal, supported by a blue and red cord.
Distinctive medal of Honorific Meiga, supported by a green and gold cord.
Distinctive Meiga of Honor medal, supported by a white and blue cord.
Distinctive medal of member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Meigas, supported by a blue and gold cord.
The titles of “Golden Thistle”, “Silver Thistle” and “Bronze Thistle”, in the collective modality, as well as the titles of “Honorary Major Meiga”, “Honorary Member” and “Official Body of the Commission ”, Are accredited only by awarding a Diploma.
Likewise, the rest of the titles of honor and distinctions, with the exception of those corresponding to President and member of the Honor Committee, are accompanied, in addition to the Medal or the figure of the Thistle, already described, the delivery of the corresponding Diploma.
The “Regulation of acts, precedence, award of distinctions and identifying signs of the Promoting Commission”, establishes the norms for the granting of all these titles of honor and distinctions that correspond, in general, to the Plenary of the Promoting Commission, except those granted to its members, whose function is assumed by the Coordination Board, made up of the President, Vice-Presidents and the Secretary General.
José Eugenio Fernández Barallobre.