Christmas in Spain

 Dime niño : Is one of the most typical phrases of the Spanish towns. The popular Christmas carol used it to allude to the birth of Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit. In addition to being a well-known song in Spain, it is also widely sung in other countries, such as Panama. Although some Andalusians claim its origin, it seems that some studies confirm that it comes from Murcia. Madre en la puerta hay un niño : Perhaps this Christmas carol is not as well known as those previously mentioned, but it is one of the most beautiful and melancholic due to its sentimental nature. In it they describe the circumstances where the Child Jesus was born: "Mother at the door there is a child, more beautiful than the beautiful sun, it seems that he is cold because he comes half naked", says the song. Ay del Chiquirritín : This popular Christmas carol comes specifically from Andalusia. It narrates the birth of Jesus and the environment of the manger. Likewise, the birth of Marí...

  Campana sobre campana : As the title of the carol announces, which is also the beginning of the lyrics as in most carols, the bells refer to the Church and its spirituality. The song announces the arrival of the Child Jesus and the birth of the Virgin Mary is celebrated, since the shepherds go to Bethlehem to bring "cottage cheese, butter and wine". Its origin is Andalusian and there is evidence of it since the beginning of the 20th century. Hacia Belén va una burra : Hacia Belén va una burra is one of the most popular Christmas carols in Spain and also in Latin America. Its lyrics seem like a true tongue twister: "I patched myself up, I patched myself up, I patched myself up, I took it off," says the song, whose origin is not Andalusian, but Castilla-La Mancha. A Belén pastores : The popular singer Isabel Pantoja released an album called Mi Navidad flamenca in 2003. One of her great successes was the version she performed of A Belén pastores, where she includes c...

Christmas carols : At first, Christmas carols did not have the Christmas character that they have now. They were rural-themed songs that the humble people who lived in the villas sang. Since then, several centuries have passed and nowadays they cannot be missing during the month of December. Blanca Navidad : It is an adaptation of the original White Christmas, of American origin. Its author, Irving Berlin, is one of the most prolific of the years of the 20th century. It is a piece with only two stanzas that talks about happiness during white Christmas, postcards and snowy trees. One of the most popular Spanish versions is that of the Mexican singer Luis Miguel, who released an album called Navidads where he popularized many of the famous Christmas carols. Los peces en el río : The origin of this popular Christmas carol, which is personally my favourite, is unknown, although some studies suggest that it has a very clear Arabic influence in the tonality and structure of the...

In the country of Spain there are many official languages Spanish or Castilian :  Spanish or Castilian is the most dominant language in Spain and the only one that is shared with all the regions of the country. It is present in all public signage, official bodies, as well as in public education as the predominant language. As for its origin, it is a Romance language from spoken Latin, belonging to the Indo-European language family. Catalan :  With regard to Catalan, we find ourselves with another of the Romance languages that are spoken in Spain and, specifically, in Catalonia. Catalan is one of the three co-official languages of Catalonia, along with Spanish and Aranese. It must be taken into account that currently, around 16% of the population of Spain speaks Catalan and 8.45% have it as their mother tongue. Galician :  In the case of Galician, it is a Romance language of the Galician-Portuguese subgroup spoken mainly in the Spanish autonomous community of Galicia. Furt...

The origin of the word Christmas : The word Christmas comes from the Latin "Nativitas" which means birth. Although there is no exact date of the birth of Jesus in the Bible, it is believed that this day was chosen because pagan holidays were celebrated in December, as a way to eradicate them, the Catholic Church decided that December 25 would be celebrated and I would remember the birth of the Saviour. Meaning of the colors of Christmas : Today it is very common to see houses with Christmas motifs of many colors, however, the traditional colors are green, red and gold. Green means birth and life; red symbolizes the blood of Christ and gold represents royalty, wealth and light. The Christmas Tree : As the story goes, the Christmas tree originated in Germany and it represents the Holy Trinity. Apparently the first artificial trees were made from painted goose feathers. Currently there are all kinds of Christmas trees. There are natural, artificial, dry branches that are decorat...

  Christmas does not bring gifts : As we have already mentioned before for the Spanish, the tradition of delivering gifts to children who have behaved well and coal to those who have behaved badly, is not Santa's job during the 25th of December, this becomes the work of the three wise men during December 6. Aguinaldo : It is one of the most deeply rooted customs of Spanish Christmas, although over time it is being lost. In Spain, the custom is for children to go house to house singing Christmas carols, in exchange for a "Aguinaldo" that can be money, candies or sweets typical of these dates, such as nougats or polvorones. Roscón de reyes: The origin of the Roscón de Reyes dates back to the Roman Saturnalia, when, on the slaves' festival, a bean was placed inside the bread as a symbol of prosperity. According to some sources, in the 18th century, the cook of the then King Louis XV of France decided to introduce a gold coin, a symbol of fortune, into the roscón, in addi...

  A Christmas boot : It is an empty cloth bag in the shape of a boot that is hung on Christmas Eve so that Santa Claus can fill it with small toys, candy, fruit, coins or other small gifts. The tradition of the Christmas stocking is believed to have its origins in the story of Saint Nicholas. The tradition of the Christmas stocking is believed to have its origins in the story of Saint Nicholas. Christmas spheres : They are an essential part of one of the most important traditions of this time. They are used both to decorate the Christmas tree, and to be part of crowns and ornaments. It is believed that the origin of the Christmas spheres began when Saint Boniface decorated a tree with red apples, these represented the temptations and sins of Adam and Eve, and candles symbolizing the light of Christ were also added. The nativity scene:  I t can go from a simple replica of the moment with the figurines of the ox, the mule, Saint Joseph, the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus in...

  Christmas tree : Although it is not a tradition of purely Spanish origin, we put a Christmas fir tree in every house, be it natural, plastic, wooden, small, large, etc. It is typical, when the famous December Bridge arrives, to take the opportunity to decorate the tree as a family, decorating it in the most variegated way possible. Mistletoe : According to the legend of the mistletoe at Christmas, the druids considered the mistletoe plant to be magical because it stayed green throughout the year, as well as containing other mystical and healing properties. They also believed that it was a plant capable of providing peace, so under the mistletoe a marriage could be celebrated or a truce declared from a battle. Christmas star : The Christmas star represents the light that guided the three Wise Men to the place where the Child Jesus was born. It is a very important element of the tree since it is inspired by the star of Bethlehem. The so-called star of Bethlehem, also means hope and...

 In this second part we will continue talking about the different traditions of Spain. "Los Santos inocentes" :  December 28 is the day of the Innocent Saints, that is, the day of jokes, this is a day in which people start making jokes during the day. The typical symbol is a paper doll that you can hang on your friends and acquaintances, but there is a wide variety of pranks that the most revelers play at home, at work, with their friends. The 12 grapes on New Year's Eve : Also called "lucky grapes" and they are taken at twelve o'clock at night on December 31 following the twelve chimes of the clock at Puerta del Sol in Madrid. There are people who go there that night to take them live, and for children we usually recommend that you go to one of the New Year's Eve grape rehearsals that are held in the square the day before. Letter to the Three Wise Men : Every year, in December, the children write a letter to the Three Wise Men telling them how well they...

Although there are a large number of countries that share this tradition, each of these countries has its own unique and different way in which they celebrate these festivities, and Spain is no exception, this country, like many others, has its own way of celebrating. Christmas parties unique and different from the others.  The Christmas nativity scene : It is a representation of the birth of the Child Jesus in the small town of Bethlehem and all the families put their own. There is a great variety of nativity scenes, some are very simple, formed only with the basic characters (the Child, Saint Joseph, the Virgin Mary, the ox and the mule), and there are some (this is what usually happens in houses where there are little ones) full of strange and surprising characters. Go to the Christmas market:  Going to the Christmas market is a tradition that has taken root in the population. The Christmas market in the Plaza Mayor is the most typical in Madrid, but in almost every city th...

In the same way that food, desserts are just as important during the celebrations, so this time we are going to talk about desserts. Roscón de Reyes :  It is a sweet dough bun with a round shape that is decorated with slices of candied fruit. It is usually filled with whipped cream or cream, although they are modernizing and adding more flavors to the filling such as chocolate, truffle or mocha. It is also very normal for it to be flavored with orange blossom to give it its own aroma. Rosco de vino : Another of the sweets that is not usually missing at Christmas in almost any house are the famous roscos de vino. Donut-shaped cookies that are usually made with a little sweet wine and nuts and covered with icing sugar to give it a more wintery touch. Apart from the wine, they usually carry flour, sugar, olive oil, lemon zest, sesame seeds and brandy. A Christmas sweet with a great tradition for which sweet wine from Malaga is usually used to give it that special touch and e...

Spain has a unique gastronomic culture that in turn has been influenced by other cultures and Christmas is not spared from the culture of this country. Roast lamb : Although it is consumed throughout Spain, especially at Christmas, this is a typical dish from Castilla-La Mancha. It is the tender and tasty meat of the sheep lamb, the suckling lamb, fed with mother's milk during its 25 or 30 days of life. It is important to control the temperature and flip it properly so that it is crispy on both sides. It can be accompanied with salads or potatoes. Stuffed turkey :  Another dish rooted in our customs, especially for Christmas Eve, which we have incorporated perhaps due to the influence of the Anglo-Saxon world. The filling is usually made from minced beef and pork, garlic, onion, tomato, raisins, almonds, olives, different spices. Cod cooked with cauliflower :  A traditional Galician recipe and from other areas of northern Spain, especially on Christmas Eve and Holy Week. The c...

In the previous post we talked about the special days that precede Christmas, now we will continue with those that follow after this. December 31st : This day is celebrated on Christmas Eve, which is the celebration of  during the night. As with Christmas Eve, this is not really a holiday, rather people work during the day and leave work a little earlier to prepare dinner. It is true that the Spanish tend to eat dinner late, especially in summer, but on New Year's Eve they dine a little later still, since they wait wide awake until midnight to eat the grapes and celebrate the new year. January 5th : This day in the afternoon, is always celebrated throughout Spain, "LA CABALGATA DE LOS REYES MAGOS". This day we celebrate the moment in which the Three Wise Men arrive in the city and there is a parade full of parades, dancers, people in costumes, music. Parents take their children to the parade of the Three Kings that usually ends in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, where three t...

In Spain, as in other countries, there are days around Christmas, which are just as important as this one and which warn both the beginning of Christmas and the end of it. December 22nd :  This day in Spain the "Christmas Lottery – El Gordo" is celebrated. It is a lottery draw in which many people participate and in which a large number of prizes can be won. The difference with respect to others is that the winning numbers are not said, they are sung The ballots that are raffled are called tenths and they begin to be sold months before, around October.  December 24th : Christmas Eve is celebrated, although this is not really a holiday, since most people work. At night, the Spanish gather as a family to eat, drink and spend time together. Unlike other countries that share this tradition, gifts are not given. For some years, however, the Anglo-Saxon tradition of Santa Claus, who brings a gift to the youngest children, has been imported. December 25th : I s Christmas, a...

The origin of Christmas in Spain dates back to the 6th century. the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, which is celebrated on December 25, bears many similarities with the Saturnalia, the pagan festivals that the Romans celebrated in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture and the harvest. Originally, the Saturnalia took place between December 17 and 23, coinciding with the winter solstice, when the Sun rises later and sets earlier. Agricultural work ended at this time and peasants and slaves could postpone daily work. When Julius Caesar introduced his calendar in 45 B.C. C., December 25 should have been between December 21 and 22 of our Gregorian Calendar. From this party, the idea of December 25 as the date of the birth of Jesus Christ was taken. However, in the year 529, Justinian, emperor of Byzantium, established December 25 as the date to commemorate the birth of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire, which then included the Iberian Peninsula. Therefore, the celebration for...