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10 Ways to Keep Your Expectations From Making You Crazy This Christmas
Christmas is a wonderful time! Everyone is full of good cheer, the milk of human kindness and 20 pounds of candy. All gifts are given with love, are exactly the right size, are exactly the right color, or exactly the right thing for exactly the...
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In those days, I worked for the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, in the state of California. I lived in Lancaster, California, which is about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. This is dessert area. Very hot in the summer time and snow every three years in the...
Create Your Own Personal Christmas Traditions
Create Your Own Personal Christmas Traditions The Christmas holidays are steeped in familiar, old traditions. Decorating our homes, trimming the tree, exchanging gifts, hanging mistletoe and many other traditions are staples of the season. And...
The Cheapest Christmas Ever!
Have you ever said "I wish we didn't have to spend so much money on Christmas?" or "I wish we could have Christmas without going into debt!" Well here is your answer - tell your family that next Christmas no one is allowed to buy a new, expensive...
What Gift Can I Give A Bird Lover This Christmas?
Choosing gifts for any animal lovers can be quite a pleasure, as it is often a gift that is shared by the recipient with her animal friends or pets. This is especially so with bird lover gifts. People who really love birds tend to want them to...
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Christmas in Spain
Christmas is a deeply religious occasion in Spain. The country's
patron saint is the Virgin Mary and the Christmas season
officially begins on December 8th, the feast of the Immaculate
Conception.
For those of you planning to spend Christmas in Spain, you will
find it is a far less commercialised affair to what you have
become used to in latter years in the UK. Unlike, in the UK
where the build up has already begun, the shops don't actually
start filling up the Christmas stock until December and you
certainly won't find a tree in anybody's house until the second
half of December.
I can understand the urgency to create a festive feeling early
in the UK. Imagine the grimness of winter without the glow of
shop windows, and the exciting countdown to the celebrations.
September to December can be a pretty mundane time of year and
we certainly need those mini festivals such as Halloween and
Bonfire Night to keep us going until Christmas. This year will
be my second Christmas in Spain and I kind of miss doing it the
UK way. However, what I certainly won't miss is that huge
anti-climax feeling that you experience post Christmas as we
endure the drudgery waiting for spring.
The main difference between a Spanish Christmas and the UK
version is the importance of the feast of the Epiphany on the
6th January. This is the day that the Three Kings arrived in
Bethlehem, on horseback. In Spain this is when presents are
given and the three "magic" kings, not Father Christmas give the
children presents. Parents encourage their children to write to
the Three Kings, in the same way that ours write to Father
Christmas. It is on this day, that people gather in the town's
streets to watch the cavalcades of the Three Kings in all their
glory, throwing sweets for all the children. In recent years
many families have started to give their children their
presents
on Christmas Eve because children have to go to school on the
7th January and they don't have time to play with their new toys.
Spanish Christmas is known as Navidad. It is still regarded as a
time to go to church and of course, exchange presents. Christmas
Eve is known as Nochebuena, "the Good Night". Families usually
gather around Nativity scenes (a belen) in their own homes. The
meal eaten on Christmas Eve is one of the most important meals
of the year. Seafood is widely eaten and families often hang a
'pata de jamon' in their kitchen and slice off cuts of cold ham
over the Christmas period. You won't be eating mince pies at
Christmas in Spain; here you find cupboards stacked with
Polverones, a cake/biscuit made with almonds, flour, and sugar,
and turron, similar to nougat, made with toasted, sweet almonds.
f you are thinking of spending Christmas in Spain, it is far
less stressful than in the UK as there is hardly any hype, think
UK Christmas in the seventies. However, for children it is
probably not anywhere near as exciting as in the UK. Everything
closes down over Christmas and you don't have the Boxing Day
sales to escape from the house to.
As Spanish television is pretty dire, even for us who can speak
and understand Spanish, my recommendation would be make sure you
have satellite television installed, bring some new DVDs and
some family board games, oh and don't forget the Sainsbury's
mince pies for festive homesickness.
About the author:
Susan Pedalino is Masters degree qualified in Intercultural
Communication and teaching English as a foreign language. Susan
regularly writes for Eye on Spain (www.eyeonspain.com). Having
moved to Spain to set up a business and buy property, she has
gained invaluable experience in buying off plan property in
Spain.
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