Christmas the Spanish Way

A special kind of homesickness comes during the holidays when living abroad.  It’s too expensive to buy a plane ticket back home and this will be my first Christmas away.  I was starting to feel a little blue, so I went out this weekend to see how the Spanish celebrate Christmas.

Christmas is a big deal in Spain, but Three Kings Day is a bigger deal.  This day is on January 6^th and most children will receive gifts then, though some get to open a few presents Christmas day.  Children leave shoes by the door this day hoping the three kings will leave presents in them overnight.  Often children will write letters to the kings as well.  The day before Three Kings Day, there are parades where men dressed as the three kings throw candy to children in the crowd.  Scenes from the nativity are everywhere this time of year, as you can see from the metro ad above.

The roscon de los reyes or the ring cake of the kings is the traditional desert eaten on Three Kings Day, although I’ve seen them popping up in Madrid since the beginning of December.  The fruit on the top is supposed to symbolize jewels in a crown and they often have cream in the center.  Inside is a figure of the baby Jesus and if you get it in your piece, it is said you will have good luck this year.

Another typical Spanish Christmas treat is turrón.  This is a sweet like nougat, usually it has almonds in it, but has many flavors like chocolate, orange, crème brûlée, and more.  I wanted to try a bit of this, but it was difficult.  I first went to a store that was recommended by my students, Casa Mira, which is known for its traditional turrón.  Unfortunately, it is only sold by the kilo!  I didn’t want a whole kilo of turrón, so I kept searching, finally finding some free samples.  To me turrón, tastes like a rich, sweet fudge, so I’m really glad I didn’t get a full kilo of it!

Spain is not known for its Christmas markets like Germany, but they are still very fun to visit.  I found one in Plaza Mayor and one in Opera, but they can be found all over the city.  There is even one inside one of the company campuses I work at!  You can find small trinkets, a lot of which are figurines of the nativity scene.  You can also buy artisan wares and toasted chestnuts.

The last Christmas tradition I want to talk about is the Lotería de Navidad or the Christmas lottery.  I have seen ads for the Christmas lottery since November.  It is the longest running lottery, it even ran undisturbed during the Franco era.  For 20€ you can buy a chance to win ‘El Gordo’, the first prize.  Each ticket has a 5 digit number on it, however multiple tickets will be printed with the same number.  If that number is drawn, the prize is split among the ticket holders.  It is traditional for offices to buy multiple tickets of the same number, to see if the whole office can win big.

Even if I get homesick, it is still possible to find some Christmas cheer.  Everywhere you go there are Christmas lights, making the city glow at night.  Along with the traditional celebration of the three kings you also see the typical western symbols like Santa Claus and reindeer.  In stores, you hear Christmas carols, in both Spanish and English.  As the temperature gets cooler, the Christmas cheer gets warmer.  Perhaps I will pick up some new Christmas traditions to bring home with me.