The 1 December, is the first day of Advent, the period leading up to Christmas.
In Christian religions, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, this is a significant time of year. Both religions set great store by the Advent Calendar.
Advent photo courtesy of the BBC
An expensive time of year
In Spain, funcionarios and pensionistas have just received a double salary/pension payment, so, in theory they have a lot of disposable income.
However, they’ve got the “Puente” of 6 and 8 December, Christmas, New Year and Epiphany to pay for! And the Spanish spend huge amounts of money at this time of year, especially on presents for the children.
Image courtesy of irBarcelona
6 December is Día de la Constitución. This holiday commemorates the adoption of this law, which lays down the rights and duties of all Spaniards. The Constitution was approved on 6 December 1978 and is still in force.
8 December is Inmaculada Concepción. On this date, the Spanish commemorate the conception of the Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Conception.
According to tradition, 1 December is when you can start to decorate your home for this festive period.
A personal viewpoint
I’m going to be alone for Christmas this year, for the first time in my long life. You can read all about that here: Christmas "de Rodríguez" - Rita’s alternative Christmas Dinner
So. I’ve already started to put up a few Christmas decorations. I’ve also decided on my Christmas Dinner menu.
[Photo courtesy of El Mundo]
I was going to just do a traditional English roast turkey with all the trimmings, which I haven’t had the pleasure of very often in recent years, but my “lovely” wife Rita suggested something different and presented me with a couple of different options:
Cream of pumpkin soup followed by roasted sea bass stuffed with vegetables and prawns. Sounds great, doesn’t it? And as a bow to English tradition, if I can find one, I shall have Christmas pud! [Update: I found one yesterday on the coast!]
Crema de calabaza [Allrecipes] Lubina al horno [Photo: ¡Hola!] Christmas pud [Photo: Raymond Blanc]
Recipe here: Christmas "de Rodríguez" - Rita’s alternative Christmas Dinner
Last word:
Looks like I'm going to enjoy my Advent and Christmas. If I can find myself a dinner companion for Christmas Day, all the better! ¡Ojalá!
© Pablo de Ronda
Links:
Christmas "de Rodríguez" - Rita’s alternative Christmas Dinner
... de Rodríguez? - Secret Serrania de Ronda
Tags:
Advent, Advent calendar, Allrecipes, Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas Dinner, Christmas pud, Cream of pumpkin soup, Crema de calabaza, de Rodriguez, Día de la Constitución, double salary/pension payment, Epiphany, funcionario, ¡Hola!, Immaculate Conception, Inmaculada Concepción, Lubina al horno, New Year, Pablo de Ronda, pensionista, “Puente” of 6 and 8 December, Raymond Blanc, Rita, roasted sea bass, roast turkey with all the trimmings, Secret Serrania, Virgin Mary