Catholic Christmas
Description:
Christmas in Spain is the most important winter holiday. Preparations for it begin in November. Gradually, city streets are decorated, Christmas trees are installed in shops and on the streets, Papa Noeli - the brothers of Santa Claus and Santa Claus - are melted everywhere.
Christmas celebrations also begin long before the official date. For about a week or two, restaurants organize Christmas dinners for friends and/or work colleagues. Traditionally, such dinners end closer to the morning. Each Spaniard, on average, attends three such dinners. As a result, the entire second half of December is essentially non-working.
One of the Christmas traditions unique to Spaniards is the celebration of Hogueras. It is an ancient celebration of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter. People jump over fires to protect themselves from disease. Such fires can be found in Jaen and Granada.
Usually on Christmas Eve, like the stars in the sky, the cozy windows of houses are illuminated by kerosene lamps.
Christmas in Spain is a quiet family holiday held with the family. This is a holiday that invites everyone, even the most distant relatives. The festive table is usually decorated with Christmas turkey with mushrooms. It is also full of sweets - halva, marzipans, anise lollipops are present in abundance. In addition to sweets (many of which are of Arabic origin and are based on mendala and honey), seafood is always present on the festive table of every Spanish family - shrimp, crabs and lobster. Previously, sweets were baked in small pastry shops in every town, but now, in most cases, they are products from supermarkets.
The most important traditional Christmas attribute is bleach, a model symbolizing the picture of the birth of Christ. Whitewash can be of a variety of sizes. They decorate both shop windows and city squares. This is of great interest to Spaniards and especially children. Now, more and more often, the Christmas tree (Anglo-German tradition) replaces or at least complements Belém.
After dinner, all family members gather around the tree and sing Christmas songs. The Spaniards have fun until morning.
An old Spanish verse reads: "Esta noche es Nochebuena, Y no es noche de dormir" (It is a blessed night, and it is not intended for sleep).
At Christmas, believers often go to church for a festive service. This is called Misa de aurora or Misa de gallo (morning or mass of the rooster). According to legend, it was the rooster who was the first witness to the birth of Christ and spread this news around the world.
Christmas Eve in Spain is called Nochebuena. The Spaniards love to have fun. Christmas is just the first stop in a long series of holidays. Having gained strength and products, the Spaniards celebrate the New Year, and then the festival of Magic Kings (Magi), traditional in the Catholic world. If you add Constitution Day (December 6) and the Immaculate Conception (December 8) to this list, it becomes clear that the Christmas holidays in Spain last exactly a month.