This will be my second Christmas in Spain, but my first celebrating it with a Spanish boyfriend and some of his non-English-speaking family. If I wanted to learn Spanish through unique cultural experiences, boy was this the opportunity! Coming from Canada by way of the United States, I’m used to a particular type of celebration.
There certainly is a lot of overlap, but here are the differences I’ve noticed between Christmas in Spain and Christmas in the U.S./Canada—the traditions, the timeline, the food and some key words and phrases.
Many kids grow up with Los Reyes Magos (The Three Kings or, as we call them in North America, The Three Wise Men) bringing gifts on Jan 6, although these days more families also do Papá Noel on Dec 25. On the night of Jan 5, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar travel through Spain—traditionally on camels—and leave gifts for children. Kids often set out their shoes (and sometimes snacks for the Kings and water/food for the camels), and the naughty kids receive carbón (“coal”), which is often sweet coal candy.
Santa Claus is the central character who delivers presents during the night of Dec 24 by riding through the air on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Kids leave cookies and milk for Santa (and sometimes carrots for the deer), who comes down the chimney to leave gifts in the stockings hung on the fireplace.
There are major shared, public traditions—especially the Cabalgata de Reyes (Jan 5) parade, where kids line the streets and candy is tossed. Nativity scenes (belén/nacimiento) are also a big deal in many places, and Christmas markets pop up in a lot of plazas.
The public side is more about Christmas lights (including on houses, and it’s common to drive around to see all the decorations), shopping and the “mall Santa” in which families bring their kids to meet Santa Claus in person, sit on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas. But the core rituals tend to feel more home-centered.
Dec 28 is Día de los Santos Inocentes, a prank day (like April Fools). It originates from the tragic story in the bible of King Herod ordering the slaughter of all boys two and under in Bethlehem in an attempt to kill the baby Jesus, making them the “Holy Innocents.” After a prank, the joker often shouts “¡Inocente!” (Innocent!). Trust the Spaniards to find a way to transform a solemn historical day into a lighthearted day of shared laughter.
Dec 26 is Boxing Day, originated in the 1700s as a day in which the wealthy gave a “Christmas box” of gifts like food (often their leftover Christmas dinner) to servants or tradespeople. These days it’s just an extra day off for most people.
Ugly Christmas sweater – a festive (and ironic) tradition in which people gift others (and wear!) the ugliest Christmas-themed sweaters they can find.
12 grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve (las uvas)—one per chime—for luck.
A countdown, champagne toast, and the classic “new year, new me” vibe.
These have no meaning in Spain, but are very common in North America:
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