- Preparation for the holiday
- New Year's table
- Traditions and customs
- Santa Claus in Spain
- Where can you celebrate a holiday
New Year's Spain annually gathers thousands of tourists who want not only to see the country, but also to feel the magical atmosphere of the holiday. The New Year is celebrated by the Spaniards on a very large scale and fun, unlike Christmas, which is considered a purely family celebration.
Preparation for the holiday
The Spaniards are visual aesthetes, so they prepare for the New Year in advance and try to find the perfect decorations for their home. So, the majority of the country's inhabitants set up a spruce tree in the center of a room or yard and hang a variety of toys on it. It should be noted that a flower called poinsettia plays a significant role as a symbol of the holiday. This amazing plant begins flowering in early December, and its inflorescences look like red pointed stars. This is the reason why the Spanish associate poinsettia with the New Year.
As for the streets of large cities, you can see colorful garlands, lantern compositions and other illumination on them. The center of the celebration is the main square of Madrid, where one of the oldest buildings in the city is located. There are large chimes on this building, which tell the minutes of the outgoing year on December 31. All Spaniards at this moment go out into the street, loudly applaud and wait for the coming of the next year.
New Year's table
Each housewife strives to cook something special for the New Year. As a rule, the list of obligatory dishes includes: slicing of different types of jamon; paella with seafood; baked chicken in wine sauce; chorizo (minced meat sausages); gazpacho (tomato-based soup with garlic); tapas (snacks with vegetable, fish and meat ingredients); cheese plate; fresh fruits; Catalan cream; macaroons; pudding.
Since Spain has been famous for its winemaking since ancient times, then, of course, the inhabitants of the country prefer wine as an alcoholic drink. However, you can often see a bottle of expensive champagne on the tables, a glass of which is drunk exactly at midnight with the first strike of the chimes.
Traditions and customs
The Spaniards honor New Year's rituals that have their roots in the deep past. It is worth noting that most of the traditions are not followed today, but there are those that survived many years later.
Every resident of the country during the holiday must do the following:
- Eat 12 grapes on New Year's Eve, symbolizing each month of the outgoing year. The ritual, as a rule, is performed to the chimes, which gives the process a special intrigue. Anyone who has time to use in a short time can be sure that the coming year will be successful. In parallel, you can make a wish that will certainly come true.
- Go to the central square and take part in folk festivals, which are more like a merry masquerade with numerous fireworks.
- Shout and applaud loudly on New Year's Eve, as this is a sure sign that all the troubles of the past year will be left behind.
- Buy red clothes or underwear in the store. The Spaniards firmly believe that this particular color is the key to well-being and health in the new year. In this case, girls most often buy red skirts or blouses.
- Perform comic divination, the purpose of which is to find a soul mate. To do this, young people write names on paper, and then mix the resulting pieces in fabric bags. Each in turn pulls out a piece of paper and looks at the name of the future lover.
- Give a friend or relative a cotillion, which is a small handbag with holiday gifts inside. As a gift, the Spaniards put balloons, confetti, crackers and other trifles into the cotillion.
Santa Claus in Spain
The main New Year's wizard in the country is called Olentzero. According to one of the legends, as a child, Olentzero was found in the forest by one childless family. Kind people raised the boy, and when his parents died, he began to help poor children and bring them gifts in the form of wooden toys. Once Olentzero saved children from a fire and died. After this tragic incident, he became the personification of courage and justice. Since then, the image of a brave boy has become a part of Spanish folklore and is associated with the Spaniards with Santa Claus.
The difference between Olentzero and other European Santa Clauses is that he puts gifts not in a sock or boot, but on the windowsill. Children waking up in the morning see gifts on their windows. If a child has behaved badly for a year, then Olentzero can leave pieces of black coal instead of him.
Where can you celebrate a holiday
Deciding to celebrate the New Year in Spain, you will not go wrong, as you will have a maximum of positive impressions and breathtaking Spanish flavor.
Fans of mass events are advised to go to enchanting Barcelona, exquisite Valencia or bustling Madrid. In these cities you will find a festive program for every taste. On New Year's Eve, most agencies specially organize tours that include visits to local attractions, dinner at a restaurant with tasting of national dishes, and an entertainment show. In addition, you can visit the fairs selling handmade New Year's souvenirs.
Of course, many tourists want to get to Barcelona to see with their own eyes the unique show of the Singing Fountains and go to a party held on the territory of the Architectural Museum.
Those who prefer active holidays should go to the Sierra Nevada and go skiing. Today it is one of the best resorts of this level in Europe. Developed infrastructure, excellent weather conditions in late December and early January, the availability of a residential complex - all this will be appreciated by tourists who are used to spending time in comfort.
New Year in Spain is a great opportunity to get to know the country better, learn the peculiarities of its culture and once again make sure that the Spaniards know how to celebrate holidays on a grand scale.
