We celebrate well in Spain - how about you?

A Christmas Chronology
by Arthur Webster

Spain still tends to observe Christmas as a religious festival and the national devotion to the Virgin Mary is never so fervent as in this season.

There will be early signs of Christmas in some of the areas (particularly the Costa del Sol) where there has been a large influx of north Europeans but, generally, Christmas does not start until the first week of December. (Contrast that with the UK where Christmas goods are in many shops as early as late September!!)

For myself, the first sign that Christmas is in the offing is the appearance of turrón in the shops. These are especially Spanish types of nougat and chocolate and, for people with a sweet tooth, they are devastatingly ‘more-ish’. I do notice, also, that there is far more glacé fruit available, though this delicacy is available all the year round from many pastelerías.

Shortly after this, usually in the first week of December, the shops will start to fill their shelves with the usual Christmas goodies and most town and village councils, major shopping centres and larger shops will start to build their very intricate and detailed Belens. Many homes also will have Belens built and cared for by the children. These are fabulous nativity scenes and depict life, as it was supposed to be, in Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus. Although it is not unusual to see a cow in the stable where jesus was born, in Spain the cow is given much more prominence because of the belief that the cow kept the baby Jesus warm with its breath. Many Belens feature moving figures and flowing water. (Belen = Bethlehem)

One feature of many Belens which often creates amusement is the inclusion of a figure answering a call of nature (usually necessitating a squatting position with pants round ankles) – it is not unusual for these figures to be recognisable as local or national political figures and no offence is intended or taken, indeed, it is often taken as an honour to be so depicted.

There are countless local traditions but I suppose the most well known is ‘Hogueras’ on the shortest day of the year when bonfires are lit and people will jump the fire in order to obtain protection against illness in the coming year. This celebration is particularly popular in Granada and Jaen. It, like many celebrations throughout the year, has its origins in the pre-Christian era and has simply been continued because the tradition was too well established for it to die out.

Naturally the stocks and availability of ‘seasonal foods’ is huge and one of the great pleasures is to be able to walk around the many street markets and simply marvel at the fantastic displays of fruit, vegetables, a dentists nightmare display of sweet and sticky candies and, of course, flowers.

A visit to the fish markets will amaze you with the range that is available (fish being a major part of Spanish Christmas feasts).

Talking of feasts, visitors to Spain who cannot rid themselves of their traditional bed times will not be too pleased when their Spanish neighbours start Christmas dinner after attending midnight mass and follow up a joyous and often rowdy meal with Christmas carols and hymns – sung, I might add, with mucho gusto and often in the streets (well, it is probably almost daylight by then).

Christmas eve is often marked by the use of small oil lamps and, of course, a great and joyous pealing of the church bells.

An old tradition, which can still be seen in some of the smaller and quieter, traditional villages, is ‘swinging’. I haven’t been able to discover the origin of this activity but it is not unusual to see courtyards and open spaces occupied by swings with a large and jolly crowd singing songs and having so much enjoyment from them that you get the impression that they are satirical or risqué – or both. The nearest I have ever come to an explanation is that it is all part of the pre Christian traditions, maybe to encourage the sun to speed on its way back.

All in all, Christmas is a long and deeply religious festival and to enjoy it at its best, you must get involved – going to bed before midnight at this time of year is not an option.

So, to the time table:-

8th December: This is the feast of The Immaculate Conception and signals the start of the celebrations.

21st December: The winter solstice is celebrated with bonfires (see above) and protection against illness in the coming year is sought by those athletic enough to jump the fires.

22nd December: Not part of the religious festivities but an integral part of the Spanish Christmas is the drawing of the winning numbers in El Gordo – a very popular national lottery with ginormous prizes. Many Spaniards will be glued to their TVs as school children sing out the numbers as they are drawn from the drums. The process takes many hours so many children are needed to ensure no damage is done to young voices. National News programmes will report the winning numbers and TV cameras will be rapidly dispatched to winning towns and villages to record the wild celebrations where El Gordo winners are to be found.

24th December: Nochebuena, the most important family event of the year. Friends will meet up for a social drink or two before returning home to a family evening and meal. As well as turrón, after the meal, cava (Spanish champagne) will be in evidence for the toast as will polverones, a sort of cross between a biscuit and a cake, made from flour, sugar and almonds that literally melt in the mouth. (More nightmares for the dentists!). Naturally, Spain producing a wide range of delicious wines, wine will be taken!

25th December: This is a national holiday but the children, if they receive anything, will only receive a small gift. This is not a day for wild celebration but more a day to recover from the night before and to spend some leisurely, quality family time together – maybe going for a walk and visiting the local bars – maybe even giving mother a rest from cooking by enjoying a quiet meal out (quiet, that is, by Spanish standards).

28th December: This is All Fools Day with knobs on! If you are not aware of the Spanish sense of humour, today will cure you! For foreigners who follow the Spanish news, this is not the day to believe everything the news reader or newspaper says! Many a tall tale and odd story is told on this day. Many areas celebrate with fireworks and bonfires and in some areas, a young person takes on the office of ‘Mayor’ for the day and can order adults to carry out some very strange tasks – and they can’t refuse to do them!

31st December: Nochevieja. This is probably one of the wildest nights throughout all of Spain. Nothing much happens until 11pm or so and then people will start to flock to the village square or the major plazas in the larger towns and cities. Fancy dress is adopted in many places and it is not unusual to be (literally) bombed with the very loud fire crackers the Spanish are so fond of throwing around. Many hotels and clubs will hold special events for the more, shall I say, staid members of the community but the revelry is wild and carefree, where ever you are. As midnight strikes, it is traditional to eat a grape with each strike of the bell to give yourself good luck for the coming year. This is a very new tradition and, like so many new traditions, was ‘invented’. In this case by grape growers who were finding too many grapes left at the end of the year. The grapes go down very well with cava. It is worth noting that the grapes, nowadays, can be bought in tins of 12 from supermarkets – who thought THAT one up, I wonder? Once this tradition has been observed, as was commented to me by a bemused fellow Brit – ‘All hell breaks loose!’ The Spanish can party any other race into the ground but you will have a fantastic, if exhausting, time while you try to keep up.

1st January: Hangover day. What more can be said?

5th January: All over Spain, this is the night the children have been waiting for. The three kings hit town in fabulous parades from which they hurl, literally, tons of sweets into the watching crowds. These parades are something you have to see – the pen may be mighty but not that mighty!

6th January: Epiphany. This is the day the children find out what Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar (who seems to be the favourite) have brought them. They are often given lumps of ‘coal’ as a joke but this coal is made from sugar – even if it does look extremely realistic. Just as British children will hang a stocking up, Spanish children will leave their shoes on the doorstep or window sill, often filled with hay or food for the camels. Since Balthasar is such a favourite because it is widely accepted that it is he who actually gives the presents and he usually is depicted riding a donkey, hay is the most popular stuffing.

7th January: Like a switch being thrown, everything goes back to normal. The children go to school and parents go back to work. But there is next year to look forward too!

One aspect of a Spanish Christmas that is often over-looked is the huge amount of work the three kings do. During the weeks up to 6th January, they visit hospitals, schools and nursing homes, call on the sick and raise huge amounts of funds for charity wearing very elaborate costumes befitting kings and, of course, often with the necessary string of servants.