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, 6th 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.
