Local traditions and festivals, which are nearly always related to working the land and Catholicism, have been kept alive as a part of country life. The way that people have adapted to their surroundings has been an important feature in the formation of our culture. The island's physical conditions in terms of climate, isolation, the soil and vegetation, meant that a way of life based on self-sufficiency endured for a long time, with crop and livestock farming as the economic base.