CUSTOMS AND ANDCHRISTMASTRADITIONS

24th December: Christmas Eve

24th December: Christmas Eve The Christmas Eve takes place the night of 24th December, eve of Christmas day (25 December). It is the Christian celebration of Jesus's birth and the customs vary in every country but a familiar meeting is too common to have dinner the “Missa del Gall” that is celebrated at midnight. The people go to the church, they listen to the mass and after the mass, in Catalonia, is tradition celebrate the “caga tió” (also there are people who celebrate it the next day). “Missa del Gall” “Tió”

26th December: St. Esteve

26th of December: St. Esteve It is the day after Christmas, the families have a meeting to eat. They use to eat cannelonis with the spare meat of Christmas, the cannelonis are a dish Very typical of Catalonia and it is made as follows: cannelonis

Ingredients: (For 4 persons) 12 Pastes for cannelonis 300Gr. Of meat Butter 50Gr. Onion Grated cheese (to dust ) ½ litre bechamel (milk and flour) Sauce Elaboration: Boil the paste in water boiling with salt, drain and turn fresh. Filling: Fry lightly the onion in butter, add that meat and mix well. Let get cool. Refill the plates of the cannelonis in cylinder shape. They elaborate the bechamel. Place the cannelonis on sources for oven, well spread with butter and cheese. Cover them with the bechamel sauce, dust with grated cheese and brown them to not very hot oven. cannelonis

28th DECEMBER: INNOCENT SAINTS

The day of the innocent saints is on the 28th December. It is celebrated making tricks to friends and family, and it is celebrated all over Spain. The traditional trick, consisted of "hanging the paper doll", - a paper doll cut of a newspaper- behind the back of the people who walk along the street. This makes the children laugh a lot.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

THE DINNER On the 31st December at night, we gather the family and friends to have dinner. Normally, first of all becomes an aperitif of canapés, chips, olives, cockles, etc… Afterwards each family eats the dinner that has prepared, and for dessert nougats and chocolates.

CANAPÉS

THE STROKES A little before twelve the twelve grapes start to be prepared by each person, because at midnight, when the bells sound, in each stroke, you have to eat a grain of grape. If the twelve grapes are eaten in time you will have a year of good luck. It is also said that if you bring a red underwear you will have good luck.

After the strokes a toast is made and people wish themselves a good year. Later, the people go out very well dressed and go to celebrate the new year to bars, local... And the people dance, drink... they spend a very good time.

PARTY!!! These things that people in the photo wear are those that behave normally for New Year's Eve. All this is in a bag that is called "cotillion".

CHOCOLATE & FRITTERS The party lasts until the morning and our tradition is: eat hot chocolate with fritters.

1st JANUARY: NEW YEAR’S DAY

The New Year’s Day is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. Here in Catalonia, we have a familiar lunch, were we eat a snack with “canapés” (small toasts with pâté, butter and salmon or sweet ham...). Later, we have cannelloni (rolls of meat, and béchamel) for lunch. After that, we eat meat or fish, depending on each family. And finally we eat nougats and rolled wafers, typical of our country.

RECIPE: FISH IN THE OVEN WITH POTATOES

INGREDIENTS for 4 people: 4 fish of ration (prayed, bass, bream, etc). Pre-fried potatoes 1 small onion. 3 ripe tomatoes. Laurel. Garlic. Lemon. Olive Oil. White Fumet of fish.

ELABORATION: Make a mixture of potato, onion and tomato in a tray. Add some drops of white wine, lemon, white fumet of fish and virgin olive oil. Above, put the open fish. Put it in the oven during some minutes ( º). When serving the dish, you can clean them or serve them directly whole.

5th AND 6th JANUARY: THE THREE WISE MEN

THE THREE WISE MEN: Among all the Christmas traditions there is a very important one for small children, the arrival of the Three Wise Men and The Twelfth Night procession. According to the tradition, the Three Wise Men went to the crib to bring the presents to the child Jesus. And in our tradition the Three Wise Men are those who take their gifts to the children who have behaved well the whole year. Those who have behaved badly are brought some coal. To prepare the arrival of the Three Wise Men, on January 5th all the small children with their parents go out to welcome the Three Wise Men that parade along the streets of the city in procession. Their pages throw sweets to the assistants and at the end of the procession they adore the child Jesus in the crib and they are welcomed by the authorities of the city.

THE TWELFTH NIGHT PROCESSION: The Three Wise Men go on procession down the streets, on their carriages. Their pages throw sweets to the people on the way.

Some parents take pictures of their sons with the Three Wise Men THE THREE WISE MEN:

THE DINNER OF THE THREE WISE MEN: The dinner the night of the Three Wise Men is not the same for the whole world, normally in every house every year people eat the same. There are the people who eat bread and tomato and sausage, sandwiches, cannelloni... later the hour of the three wise men's comes "tortell" that are always the typical pranks and discussions to know who will be the lucky one who will get the picture card, and therefore, king of the holiday will be crowned and to the one who gets the broad bean, he will be the manager of paying the "tortell". The small statuettes of the Wise Men, made of porcelain The broad beans

RECIPE OF THE THREE WISE MEN'S "TORTELL“: INGREDIENTS: 500 gr. of flour. 50 gr. of butter. 15 gr. of yeast of baker's. 4 spoonfuls of sugar. Water. ¼ l. of milk. Dry candied fruit

PREPARATION: Dilute the yeast in ½ glass of lukewarm water. Add 125 gr. of flour, work up to obtain a soft mass. Form a ball and allow to rest covered with a rag approximately 30 minutes. Put the rest of the flour in a bowl and add the lukewarm milk with the sugar and the softened butter. Work up to obtain a homogeneous pasta. Mix with the first mass, work approximately 10 minutes and allow to rest 2 hours, in a bowl covered with a rag. Lubricate with butter oneovenproof salver, put the mass on her and give him form of crown or “tortell”. Allow it to rest until it increases volume. Place the sunken pieces of fruit a little in the mass. Cook in heat oven approximately 40 minutes. Dust with sugar superficially. Allow to cool.

THE GIFTS: Once the people have already had dinner and they have sung a few typical songs, recited poems... it is time that children go to bed early so that the kings could bring them his gifts. But they before the children go to bed, leave meal for the kings and their assistants, the camels. They leave water, milk, cookies, nougats... in the balcony so that the three wise men could continue his long trip with the full well belly.

THE DAY OF THE THREE WISE MEN: On January 6th, the children get up early, excited to open the gifts that the Three Wise Men have brought them. The children who have behaved well receive their gifts and those who have behaved badly receive coal. At lunchtime the family meets as almost all the Christmas Days and they speak satisfied and happy about the gifts that they have received in general about all the holidays. The kings' menu is not the same in every house; although the majority of the families take special care so that it is special since the day indicates it. The "tortell" that Three Wise Men, once again it is chosen as dessert, since only he eats up two times a year, the night and the day of the Three Wise Men.

THE END OF CHRISTMAS: January 6th. is also important because it indicates the last day of Christmas festivities when everybody shares with their relatives and friends the magic of these days. It is necessary to prepare oneself for the coming back school and to be able to share with the partners and teachers of school the living illusion and the desires of waiting again impatient that the most wished holidays of the year come again.

THIS POWER POINT WAS DONE BY AIDA ROY MARTA COMA MARIA CASALS ANNA VENTURÓS JUDIT YUSTE FERRAN NADEU MELISSA CARO EDUARD MAS JANINA TUBAU