Navidad en España

La celebración If you want to spend Christmas in Spain you should plan on spending a month there because Christmas in Spain is a very religious holiday which starts on the 8th of December and lasts until the 6th of January. Here is how it is celebrated….

The festivities for Christmas in Spain start on December 8th, which is also a national holiday in Spain, celebrating "Immaculada"...the feast of the Immaculate Conception. This is the day when Catholics celebrate the 'miraculous conception' of the Virgin Mary. A large percentage of the Spanish population are Roman Catholics so for many people it is considered to be an important day. The day is celebrated by spending time with family, attending church, and making a traditional feast. La Immaculada – December 8th

El Gordo “The Big One” – December 22nd The Spanish Christmas Lottery, or Lotería de Navidad) is a national lottery game organized every year since 1812 by a branch of the Spanish Public Administration. As measured by the total prize payout, the Christmas Lottery is considered the biggest lottery worldwide. In 2006, if all of the tickets were sold, the total amount payout of prizes would be worth more than €2.142 billion This lottery is only drawn once a year and people buy tickets all year long, so it’s a HUGE win. On Dec. 22 nd, everyone is glued to their TV and radio set to listen for winners who are announced all day.

Since December 1812, the Christmas Lottery drawings are held according to exactly the same procedure each year. In the Lotería Nacional hall of Madrid, pupils of the San Ildefonso school (formerly reserved for orphans of public servants) draw the numbers and corresponding prizes, singing the results aloud in front of the public. The state-run Televisión Española and Radio Nacional de España and other media outlets broadcast the entire draw. The public attending the event may be dressed in lottery-related extravagant clothing and hats. Prizes are drawn all day, leading up to “EL GORDO,” the BIG ONE, where many people can win millions. Click on lottery ticket to see a video of the drawing in Spain

Nochebuena – December 24th Turrón A traditional almond nougat candy, similar to peanut brittle In Spain, Christmas Eve is known as "Nochebuena", meaning the Good Night. It is a huge candlelight celebration which consists of a magnificent feast and going to mass at midnight. It is not a time for gift exchanges or Santa Claus. That must wait until January 6th, which is Epiphany, another religious holiday, when the Three Kings come bearing gifts. In Spain, after a Christmas mass, Nochebuena tradition includes a dinner with family and friends. It is particularly common to start the meal with a seafood dish followed by a bowl of hot, homemade soup. It is also common to have desserts such as turrón.

Navidad – December 25th The Spanish treat Christmas very much more as a religious event. It is not commercialized as it is in the U.S. By contrast, Christmas Day will be a much calmer affair. Perhaps a visit to a local bar or a stroll through the square might be suggested. There may be small presents for the children but the main present-giving day doesn’t come until January 6th - Three Kings Day.

Los Inocentes – December 28th Day of the Holy Innocents is a religious holiday named in honor of the young children who were slaughtered by order of King Herod around the time of Jesus’ birth. These young victims were called Santos Inocentes or “Holy Innocents” because they were too young and innocent to have committed any sins. Currently this day is for playing tricks (Inocentadas), on friends and family, and tricks and jokes that also the Media get involved with by broadcasting absurd facts and news which go down well with the population. It is like our April Fool’s day.

Nochevieja y Año Nuevo – December 31 st & January 1st New Year's Eve in Spain is called Nochevieja – “The Old Night". Hours before midnight on New Years Eve, tens of thousands of people gather in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol (like our Times Square) to await the chimes of the clock on the tower which dominates the Spanish capital’s central square. The excitement builds up as the magic hour approaches. Finally, at the stroke of midnight and the dawn of the new year, everyone will eat twelve grapes, one for each chime. But, how do you know when twelve o'clock is? Well, decades ago, in many families the head of the family would pick up a pot or a pan and just hit it twelve times. Today, however, La Puerta del Sol in Madrid rules on that day (like the clock in Times Square defines our last seconds of the old year). There is a clock on top the La Puerta, and when the twelve gongs start, you'd better be ready to start gulping down those grapes.

La Puerta del Sol in Madrid Eating 12 grapes on Nochevieja brings good luck for the next 12 months of the new year. Click on the photo above to see Nochevieja celebrated at La Puerta del Sol The actual countdown is primarily followed from the clock on top of the Casa de Correos building in Puerta del Sol Square in Madrid.

El Dia de Reyes – January 6th Festivities officially start the evening before Epiphany, on the night of January 5, when the Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings' Parade) takes place in every town and city, where people crowd the main roads in order to get a glimpse of the reenactment of the arrival of the Three Kings into town. Typically, people stroll down the roads, trickling into the major avenues or squares of the cities with ladders, ready to climb on the second or third row of people, hoping to come out with a bagful of candies or gifts tossed form one of the three traveling Wise Men. Because in Spain, it is not the Baby Jesus, Santa Claus or St. Nicholas who brings gifts on Christmas Day, but rather the Three Kings who come bearing gifts.

The Parade of the Three Kings Click on the image of the Three Kings to watch a video of a Cabalgata in Sevilla

What have you learned? In a paragraph, tell me three new things you have learned from this presentation. You must have at least 5 sentences to be complete: