On this page we would like to
explain in general terms what the festive season is like in Spain.
Traditionally, the Spaniards will celebrate the Christmas period with
several large family meals on the following occasions :-
-
Christmas Eve dinner (Noche
Buena)
-
Christmas Day lunch (Día de
Navidad)
-
New Year's Eve dinner (Noche
Vieja)
-
New Year's Day lunch (Día de
Año Nuevo)
-
Epiphany (Jan. 6th) lunch
(Día de Reyes)
Christmas Eve /
Christmas Day (Noche Buena / Día de Navidad)
Of the above mentioned occasions,
Christmas Day lunch is obviously important, but Christmas Eve dinner is
equally so and possibly even more. Although Father Christmas/Santa
Claus/Papa Noel does visit some families in Spain, the more traditional
gift-bearers are the "Reyes Magos" (see below).
An increasingly popular custom
now is the "Amigo Invisible" (literally, invisible friend). Within a
group of friends, colleagues or family members, a maximum cost is specified
and all the participants' names are written on slips of paper, which are
then put in a bag of some sort. Each member then takes one slip of paper
from the bag, and then has to buy a present for that person, effectively
becoming his or her invisible friend since the recipient of the present
doesn't know who is the buyer. A further variant of the game allows for
everybody to try to guess who their "amigo invisible" is, on opening the
presents.
The Boxing Day concept doesn't
really exist in Spain, since it is a holiday only in a couple of autonomous
regions, but not in Madrid.
Traditional foods for Christmas
Eve dinner include all types of seafood. "Angulas" (baby eels) used to be
one of the most traditional dishes, but their increasing scarcity and thus
cost has made them prohibitive for all but the richest families. They have
now been replaced by "gulas", artificially made to look like baby eels, but
made of a fish mix. Oven-baked "besugo" (sea bream) and "lombarda" (red
cabbage) are also popular dishes.
Christmas Day lunch usually
involves heavier dishes; roast lamb and other roast meats are the norm here.
New Year / New Year's Eve (Año
Nuevo / Noche Vieja)
New Year's Eve in Madrid
basically revolves around 1 of 3 possible options :-
1) Going to the
Puerta del Sol
with all the crowds and celebrating the 12 chimes at midnight in Madrid's
main square, then heading off to a private party, or a discotheque, bar or
club
2) Having a late dinner with
family or friends and watching the 12 chimes on TV, after which the younger
members of the family will head off to a private party, or a discotheque,
bar or club
3) Having
dinner at a restaurant, where your meal, drinks, the party and often a
dance with live music will all be included in a fixed price.
New Year's Eve involves the
tradition, unique to Spain (although in Portugal they sometimes have 12
raisins), of eating 12 grapes in time to the 12 chimes of the clock at
midnight. This tradition dates from the year 1909, when a surplus of grapes
during that year's harvest obliged the wine industry to find a creative
selling idea. They invented the ritual of eating 12 grapes to bring in the
New Year, a tradition which is still thriving all over Spain today.
After the evening meals on
Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and also the eve of Epiphany, the over 18's
will tend to go out to parties, discos or bars until the early hours. It's
amazing to see the traffic jams start immediately after midnight on New
Year's Eve!
The traditional end to New Year's Eve (and many other nights out as well), is to visit the Chocolateria San Gines in order to
calm those hunger pangs with some delicious chocolate con churros.
Epiphany (Día de Reyes Magos)
As mentioned above, although some
children do receive presents on Christmas Day, it is much more traditional
in Spain to give and receive on January 6th, "el día de los Reyes Magos". On
the previous evening, January 5th, there are large processions in most
Spanish towns to celebrate the arrival of the 3 Kings (known in Spain as
Melchor, Gaspar & Baltasar ) bringing the children's presents on the backs
of camels, which the children receive on the morning of January 6th, a
public holiday in Spain.
An interesting aside here is that
Santa Claus' predecessor, Sinterklaas, visits Holland on the evening of
December 5th - St. Nicholas Eve - together with Black Peter or Zwarte Piet.
Nobody really knows why, but both leave from Spain and return there on the
morning of December 6th after doing their rounds, taking with them any
children who have been naughty during the year.
Opening Hours
Taking into account the
celebrations described explained above, you shouldn't count on any
restaurant or shop being open after around 8:30pm on Christmas Eve or New
Year's Eve or at any time on Christmas Day (a few may open for dinner on
the 25th but it can by no means be guaranteed). Museums will also be mostly closed on December
25th. Public transport systems will
close at around the same time on Christmas and New Year's Eve, but will
run (albeit at longer intervals) on Christmas and New Year's Day.
The 3 Kings will be stocking up on presents right up until
the last moment on January 5th, so New Year sales in Spain don't start
until January 7th.
Please use the
links to the left to find out all you need to know for your visit to Madrid.
For more practical information about Madrid & Spain, subscribe to the TravelSpain discussion list.
This list brings together people with a common interest - Travel in Spain.
Ask the many list members for their own opinion regarding the best hotel, places to see and how to
prepare your trip or simply share your experience in Spain with others.
Check out the F.A.Q. at http://www.gomadrid.com/travelspain-faq.html
or the list home page at
http://groups.google.com/group/travelspain. You may also subscribe directly by sending a blank email to
travelspain-subscribe@googlegroups.com
