Christmas in Spain

Christmas in Spain is somewhat unique. If you have a plan for spending the Christmas in Spain then you will be in for surprise. In the cities of Spain, Christmas is not a huge commercial occasion; rather it is a quiet family affair. All the cities of Spain are adorned with lights only in the first week of December and then you get the supplies of Christmas shopping. Obviously, you get to see adorned Christmas trees in the houses but that too are seen only from mid-December. The unique thing, which you can see in the houses are miniature scenes known as Belénes, depicting characters from The Bible.
In a visit to Spain you will find a series of celebration before and after Christmas involving all the cities of Spain.

Christmas celebrations in Spain begin with the festival of Immaculada on 8th December. Then you should visit Granada to take part in the Hogueras celebration on 21st December. In this festival of Spain which falls on the winter solstice people gather around the fire and jump through it as a mark of protecting themselves against illness. If you are in Spain and never bought a lottery ticket before, you have to do that on 22nd December. This is because the Christmas lottery is drawn here on that day and everyone in Spain buys a ticket of this lottery. On 24th night you have to stay with your family since in Spain everyone spends this night meeting friends and families and having dinner with them. Traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Spain should begin with prawn starters, main course being a roast lamb ending it with the Spanish Christmas sweet turrón, nougat made of roasted sweet almonds. Another popular sweet during Christmas celebration in Spain is the Polvorones made of almonds, flour and sugar. You should drink Cava, the famous Catalan champagne marking Christmas celebration in Spain, but if you have choice otherwise then you can go for any Spanish wine.
On the Christmas Day in Spain you can exchange gifts with your loved ones, though it is not a tradition in Spain. Spanish children receive gifts on 6th January when, it is believed that the Three Kings come with gifts for the children. Again it is family celebration on the Christmas Day in Spain. Since it is a national holiday all the shops remain closed too. People take a stroll on the lighted streets with friends and families and celebrate with quiet respect.
However, if the Christmas Day in Spain is quiet the next few days following it becomes raucous especially the Santos Inocentes day. You might become the target of Spanish practical jokes on that day and on 31st December all the cities in Spain go mad in celebration! With parties happening in the hotels, clubs and streets you are spoilt for choices. After a quiet respectful Christmas these days are enough to show you the festive spirit of the Spaniards.