Christmas in Spain

As I already mentioned Christmas in Spain doesn’t really happen on the 24^th of December but rather on the 5^th of January when the long awaited kings finally arrive to give out their presents.

Still, everybody celebrates the birth of Jesus by getting together and spending a few days together with their families. There is a Midnight Mass, too, which most people go to. It’s called ‘La Misa del Gallo’ or the Rooster’s Mass as according to popular belief a rooster crowed when the Baby was born.

Generally speaking Christmas trees do exist and they are nicely decorated although they are not real ones, only plastic ones (at least down here in the South). There are no presents though, only children under 5 get one single present. The older ones have to wait a few more days for theirs to arrive.

There is a big family dinner although there is no special Christmas meal. Usually fish is included and the meal is more special (i.e. more expensive) than usual. The dessert, however, is very typical. It consists of lots of little sweets, polvorones, monteditos and bocaditos, such as these.

Finally another essential part of the dinner: the Spanish bubbly wine, the Cava.