Feliz Navidad Merry Christmas Frohe Weihnachten Christmas in Spain Hello ! We are pupils at Cervantes school and we would like to tell you how we celebrate Christmas in our country

Christmas is a deeply religious holiday in Spain. Our patron saint is the Virgin Mary and the Christmas season officially begins December 8 th , the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

The nativity scene One symbol of Christmas for us is the Nativity scene. Every home, town and church have a “belén”. Some are animated and illuminated and draw huge crowds. .

Singing Christmas Carols Singing carols is a traditional activity at Chritmas. Among typical musical instruments are the panderetas.

December 24, Christmas Eve Christmas Eve in Spain is called “Nochebuena”, and it is celebrated with two very important traditions, eating a nice meal, and going to Christmas mass, called “misa del Gallo ” or Rooster Mass.

December 25, Christmas Day Christmas day is more or less a continuation of what began the day before.  We spend time with our families and we eat another large meal.  For dessert, there is quite a spread of delicacies, among them are turrón and mazapán, desserts made of honey, egg and almonds that are Arabic in origin.   

December 31, New Year's Eve  New Year’s Eve is known as “ Nochevieja”. When the clock strikes 12, we eat 12 grapes, one for each toll of the bell.  According to tradition, those who eat the grapes will have 12 months of prosperity in the new year. 

January 5, Three King's Parade On January 5th , children go to a parade where they see the three kings arrive to their town. Thousands of sweets are thrown from the floats by the kings to all the people who come out to watch.

January 6, Three King's Day This day is the long awaited day in which the three Kings (Los Reyes Magos) bring the gifts.  We celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany when the Three Kings Mechior, Gaspar, and Balthasar, arrived in Bethlehem.

For breakfast or after lunch, we have the typical dessert of the day, the “Roscón de Reyes”, a large ring shaped cake . It is decorated with candied fruits, symbolic of the emeralds and rubies that adorned the robes of the three kings.   Somewhere inside the cake there is a surprise.