Spanish Eyes, English Words

Last month, we returned to Spain after a break in the UK. It wasn’t even the end of November, but we were sick of seeing Christmas all around us. In Spain, no decorations go up until the first week in December at the earliest, and this is when Christmas kicks off in the shops. This is not the only aspect of a Spanish Christmas which differs from the English variety. Here’s what to expect if you spend Christmas in Spain.

In the second week of December, Christmas trees go up in Spanish homes, along with intricate nativity scenes, or belenes. Belen means Bethlehem in Spanish, and the scenes represent what the 3 Kings (Los Reyes Magos) found when they followed the star to the stable in Bethlehem. Every town and village square also has a belen, often with live animals, though I’ve yet to see one with a ‘real’ Baby Jesus!

That said, our own village of Algorfa has lately taken to presenting a live Nativity just before Christmas. It’s tomorrow – Saturday 21 December - so I’ll report on that in another post.

On 8 December, the Immaculada, or Feast of the Immaculate Conception, marks the beginning of the Christmas celebrations in Spain. It’s a public holiday, so the shops will be closed. The place to be for the Immaculada is Seville, but most places will have a fiesta to mark the day.

Some cities hold bonfires (Hogueras) on 21 December to mark the winter solstice. Granada is noted for this. You’re supposed to leap the flames to ward off illness for the year, but as I don’t fancy cremated feet, this is one Spanish custom I’ll pass on!

The Spanish Christmas Lottery, El Gordo (the Fat One), is drawn on 22 December. Tickets are 20 euros each, or you can buy a share in a ticket, which is what most Spanish families and communities do. The prizes are huge – practically in telephone numbers - and the draw takes up much of the day. It’s customary for children to sing out the winning numbers, and people will be glued to TVs in bars and homes, hoping for ‘buena suerte.’ It really is life changing if you win El Gordo.

As in much of Western Europe, Christmas Eve, or Nochebuena (literally ‘Good Night’), is the most important day of the season. Families will decamp to a bar, then return home for a meal at around 10.00pm. This meal is typically prawns, salt cod or bream, followed by roast lamb and washed down with Cava. Turron (nougat) and marzipan satisfy the sweet-toothed members of the family, and the meal will stretch well into Christmas Day. There are token presents for the children, but the real giftfest comes on Epiphany, 6^th January.

Christmas Day is a quiet day spent with the family, and the Spanish don’t mark Boxing Day. Santos Innocentes, or Holy Innocent’s Day, 28 December, is the Spanish equivalent of April Fool’s Day in England. Look out for spoof items in the press or on TV and watch out for your so-called friends!

On New Year’s Eve, or Nochevieja, (Old Night) everyone stays at home until close to midnight. Ladies – and even some gentlemen – will go out in red underwear, to  hopefully bring good luck in the New Year. It’s customary to eat 12 grapes, one on each stroke of the chimes, and shops sell tins of 12 soft, seedless grapes for this. Then it’s party time until sunrise. New Years Day, Ano Nuevo, is spent catching up on sleep and detoxing – just like in England!

On 5 January, look out for processions of the 3 Kings. (Los Reyes Magos) The Kings throw sweets to the watching crowds from elaborate floats. In the Sierra Nevada, the Kings arrive on skis. After the processions, gifts are left for all good little children. Balthazar is the equivalent of Santa Claus, and he allegedly delivers his gifts on a donkey rather than a reindeer-propelled sleigh.

6 January, Epiphany, sees the Kings delivering gifts to hospitals all over Spain. Next day, it’s back to school and work and Christmas in Spain is over for another year.

Sunday 8th December was ‘Dia de la Concepcion Immaculada,’ or ‘Day of the Immaculate Conception’ in Spain.  The day refers to the immaculate conception of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and it's an important day for Roman Catholics. the It’s also yet another public holiday, much to the annoyance of our neighbours, who went out to start their Christmas shopping in earnest on Monday and found quite a few of the stores closed!

Friday 6th December was also a public holiday for Constitution Day, but most of the major stores were open for business. Immaculada is different, though, as it’s a religious holiday. Christmas may be only 2 weeks away, but to the Spanish, it’s more important to commemorate the day and attend Mass than to put a few more Euros in the till. This highlights a major difference between Spanish and English culture; unless stores are compelled by law to close, as is the case on Easter Sunday, no English retailer would dream of closing to business for 2 days in the final run up to Christmas.

The Spanish often use this day of leisure to decorate their homes, put up the Christmas Tree and set out the Belen. (Nativity Scene) This is when Christmas begins in earnest for Spanish families. Nobody here puts up their decorations in November, which is rather refreshing. It’s like Christmas used to be in England about 40 years ago.

Each town and village, however small or large, will unveil the Belen on Immaculada, or within days afterwards. The Belen is more than just a Nativity Scene as we know it; it often aims to represent the whole of Bethlehem at the time of Christ’s birth. As well as the main group of Joseph, Mary, Jesus, the angel, ox and ass, (Nascimiento or Mysterio in Spanish) there will be workers and animals to portray village life 2,000 years ago. Families spend years building up their own Belen, adding more figures each year.

Public Belenes can be spectacular. The size of the village has no bearing on the size or scope of the Belen. In our small village of Algorfa, the Belen takes up almost half of the Plaza de Espana. The figures have moving parts, including  the ‘urinating shepherd,’ who, much to the delight of the children, can be found on the outskirts of the scene.

If this sounds a little disrespectful, it’s not really. It comes from the Catalan custom of including a defecating figure in the Belen. (El Caganer) This is supposed to bring good luck and good health for the year ahead, as the figure is ‘fertilising’ the ground, and is obviously healthy himself, as all the plumbing is working well! The figure is often a shepherd, but some towns will have a caricature of a local personality cast as a humorous addition to the Belen.

The Spanish Belen is so much more than just a nativity scene; it’s been a vital ingredient of Christmas in Spain since 1758. The image below is one from the Belen in Algorfa, Costa Blanca. For more information on this fascinating subject, including a guide to building your own Belen, visit Spanish Nativity soon. Feliz Navidad!
 

Dia de la Constitucion de Espana, or Constitution Day, 6th December, is unique in Spanish culture. For a start, it’s about the only national holiday that doesn’t have religious overtones. It commemorates the National Referendum of 1978 to approve the draft constitution which was the gateway to democracy in Spain following Franco’s death. Around 87% of the Spanish people voted in favour of the Constitution.

The Transition from Dictatorship to Democracy was bloodless, and a justified cause for national pride. As this year sees the 35th anniversary of the ratification of the constitution, look out for special events where you are in Spain.

While the celebrations for Constitution Day are formal, civic affairs rather than the usual community fiestas, the Spanish people are proud of their constitution and their part in its inception, and few Spaniards will pass up the chance to enjoy a national holiday!

There has been a major amendment to the constitution under which residents from other EU countries living in Spain may vote in elections and stand as candidates in local elections. This is a good indication that Spain welcomes immigration and integration into its society, despite some of the more lurid press reports to the contrary. There are also moves to alter the succession of the monarchy so that the eldest child, rather than the eldest male, inherits the throne.

These days, there are likely to be protest marches alongside the celebrations, and Constitution Day is recognised as the secular beginning of Christmas celebrations in Spain. This is when decorations go up in shops, streets and houses, although the increasing expat population means some areas, particularly around Torrevieja, put up street lights during November.

What of the Spanish Constitution itself? Well, it is unusual in that it makes legal provisions for social rights for its citizens and defines Spain as ‘A Social and democratic state, subject to the rule of law.’ As the Communist Party were politically strong at the time of the transition from Dictatorship to Democracy, the Constitution includes provision for state intervention in private companies ‘in the public interest’ and workers’ rights to ownership of the means of production. This is something of a mixed blessing, and politically unpopular in some quarters.

The Constitution allows for autonomy in the 17 Communities of Spain and some cities, making Spain more of a federation than a unitarian state, although neither of these terms are actually used. Each autonomous area has its own Statute of Autonomy, which in many cases is drifting away from the ideals expressed in the Constitution.

This brings its own problems, as various provinces include statutory clauses which may impact on other communities. For example, in Andalusia, Aragon, Catalonia and Extramadura, there is a clause giving these regions exclusive management powers over any rivers flowing through their boundaries. As you can imagine, communities upstream and downstream are unwilling to accept this, as decisions will be made over which they have no control but with which they will be required to co-operate.

The death penalty is allowed during wartime under the Constitution. However, as it has been dropped from the Military Code of Practice, there is effectively no death penalty in Spain.

That’s probably all you either want or need to know about the Spanish Constitution!