Embroidered Txapelduns for Champions

These pictures come from the Facebook site of Tarratadie, embroiderers of txapelduns. 

The Basque word Txapela is generally translated as beret, but really means 'hat'. A beret is a hat, but a hat not necessarily a beret… 

The word has become synonymous though with Basque identification and culture; restaurants, bars, etc called Txapela are many. 

In the Basque Country it is the custom to award a beret to the winner of a competition, especially a bertsolari competition (a bertsolari is a singer of bertso, a musical verse generally sung by two alternating bertsolaris), but also for all other sports, be it cycling, basketball and even Basque cooking.

 The Basque word for champion is txapeldun – literally, 'one who has the hat (beret)', the same word used for the large diameter berets made by Boinas Elosegui and for sale here.