Christmas in Spain “Navidad”

Christmas in Spain “Navidad”
We have not had time to write about the celebration of Christmas in Spain so that you could compare them with yours. We have to say that in Spain there were three main dates:
Christmas, New Year and Epiphany.
But in each of them can differentiate between night and day.We celebrate Christmas night and the food of Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's day and the night and day of Three Wise Men.

Christmas: Night of 24th December and food 25th .
In the past restaurants or bars didn't open . We dined in families, everybody tried to be together even coming from other cities, singing carols, eating traditional Christmas cakes “polvorones, mantecados, roscos, turrones...” ( different cakes made with almonds) and the Catholic families attend midnight mass. A very long Mass at 12.00PM and which commemorates the birth of Jesus.
We also put the Nativity Scene at home and the Christmas tree. Lately Santa Claus is coming that night too and we hang the socks and leave milk and cookies. Both the dinner and the food are wonderful and always end with a toast of champagne or cider, giving thanks for all the year together.

New Year: New Year's Eve dinner 31th December and 1st January meal .
Although this remains a family celebration, it is to enjoy with friends too.
We have a special dinner after that at 12.00Pm o'clock we have 12 grapes and toast with champagne or cider to say bye-bye year. Every family connected by TV to the Puerta del Sol in Madrid and have the grapes with the “ding-dong” of the bells. Then Fireworks, and “Cotillón” , Party!
Next day we are much more relaxed and usually eat at home, of course an exquisite meal.

Epiphany: The day begins on Epiphany 5th January we get a wonderful parade and watch The Three Wise Men ( the three wizard kings in Spanish) , they bring us a lot of toys. That night we go bed very early to get up at dawn and find the gifts that the “kings” have brought us. Sometimes we had asked in our letter, other times They bring us only some of them, sometime things that our parents have asked for us, but they are always very generous.
The day after, 6th January we usually go from house to house picking up toys that “the kings” have left at the homes of relatives and friends. We always have “Roscón de reyes”.

Food: Our mothers, aunts and grandmothers make together an incredible meal. First, many appetisers, then 1st plate, 2nd plate and dessert. Meals are usually very elaborated and unusual. Seafood soup, shrimp cocktail, stuffed squid, meatballs, turkey, pork, quail stuffed roll of meat, octopus, fish baked, Yule log, lemon mousse tiramisu ....

Toys: I think we ask ,like everyone, Wii, Play Station, Game Boy, DVD, clothes, bicycles, books, board games and of course sweets and sweet coal (only to the children didn't have a very well behaviour during the last year)

Traditional Carols: Night of peace, tambourine, donkey to Bethlehem, Virgin Mary ....

Family games: the crown, tail to donkeys, the fate of potatoes, karaoke ...

Weather: Cold

How Long?: 2 weeks free from 22nd or 23rd December to 7th January (only school). Our parent only have the main dates free.

CHRISTMAS IN ROMANIA

Dear friends,

We're going to tell you all about our Christmas celebration - CRACIUN-
I. The traditional Christmas meal consists of pork cooked in different ways and for dessert our mothers bake sponge cake filled with nuts and cacao. Here are some examples:
Appetizers:
carnati - home made sausages
caltabosi - sausages made from heart, liver and the meat of the head
lebervurst - a paste made from liver and pork fat
jumari - fried fat
piftie - pork feet jelly
smoked ham
pork liver tart

Soups:
peasant soup with smoked pork meat
sour soup with meat balls

Main dishes:
sarmale - force-meat rolls in sour cabbage leaves
baked gammon
baked pork chops
pork schnitzel
meatballs
pork's alms

Dessert:
cozonac - sponge cake filled with nuts and cacao
colaci de Craciun - knot-shaped Christmas bread
sweet cheese pie
apple pie

II. Here are some special, traditional activities.
Christmas is notably marked with the tradition of singing Christmas carols - most often by children, who travel from house to house and receive treats from neighborhood families. We also go to church, decorate our houses, gardens and Christmas trees and write letters to Santa. We invite relatives and friends for lunch, dinner and give presents.

III. About presents, of course we give and receive a lot of presents at Christmas. We get presents from Santa, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and we give presents to our friends and cousins.
We receive clothes, toys, books, games, jewelery, DVDs, money, lots of sweets.

IV. Our traditional carols are: "Dom, dom sa-naltam", "Steaua" (The Star), " Plugusorul", "Astazi s-a nascut Hristos" (Jesus is born today).

V. In Romanian Santa Claus is MOS CRACIUN.

VI. We celebrate Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

VII. At Christmas the weather is cold and cloudy, and sometimes it snows.

VIII. We don't see elves at Christmas, but Santa comes in from chimney.

VIII. We don't exchange presents at school.

IX. Our Christmas holidays last two weeks.

X. We haven't got traditional games at Christmas.

XI. At Christmas we usually stay in family, but some of us also travel.

XII. We don't eat Christmas ham, we don't bake gingerbread cookies and we don't drink glogg.


Pictures of Christmas cards :