National means a public holiday everywhere in Spain; regional, in some regions only; tradition, celebrated but not a day off.<\/p>\n\n School holidays follow the same rhythm: they usually run from around 22 or 23 December to 7 or 8 January, with exact dates set by each region.<\/p>\n\n The Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad<\/span> is the unofficial start of Christmas. People buy d\u00e9cimos<\/span> (a tenth share of a ticket), often shared with family, colleagues or their local bar. On the morning of 22 December, pupils from the Colegio de San Ildefonso<\/span> in Madrid sing the winning numbers and prizes live on television, in a chant every Spaniard recognises.<\/p>\n\n Nochebuena<\/span>, literally “the good night”, is the big family dinner: seafood, roast lamb or suckling pig, fish such as sea bream, depending on the region and the family. It ends with turr\u00f3n<\/span> (almond nougat, soft from Jijona or hard from Alicante), polvorones<\/span>, mantecados<\/span> and mazap\u00e1n<\/span>. Some families go to midnight Mass, la Misa del Gallo<\/span>. Christmas Day is for family lunch; in Catalonia the classic dish is escudella i carn d’olla<\/span>, a meat and pasta stew.<\/p>\n\n Homes, churches and town halls display a bel\u00e9n<\/span> (nativity scene), sometimes huge. In Catalonia it hides the caganer<\/span>, a small squatting figure. People sing villancicos<\/span> (carols) such as Los peces en el r\u00edo<\/span> or Campana sobre campana<\/span>, with a tambourine (la pandereta<\/span>) and a friction drum (la zambomba<\/span>).<\/p>\n\n A day of pranks: paper figures (monigotes<\/span>) are stuck on people’s backs and the media publish invented news stories. The victim is an inocente<\/span>. Remind pupils that 1 April has no such role in Spain.<\/p>\n\n At midnight on Nochevieja<\/span>, people eat one grape for each chime of the clock on the Puerta del Sol<\/span> in Madrid, broadcast live on television. The trap: the chimes are preceded by the quarter chimes, los cuartos<\/span>, and every year someone starts too early. Then comes a toast, often with cava<\/span>, and \u00a1Feliz a\u00f1o!<\/span><\/p>\n\n On the evening of 5 January, the Three Kings, Melchor<\/span>, Gaspar<\/span> and Baltasar<\/span>, parade through towns throwing sweets to the crowd. Children have written them a letter (la carta a los Reyes<\/span>); before bed they leave their shoes out, often with a snack for the Kings and water for the camels. Naughty children are said to get carb\u00f3n<\/span>, which in practice is sugar coal.<\/p>\n\n On 6 January families share a rosc\u00f3n de Reyes<\/span>, a ring-shaped sweet bread topped with candied fruit, sometimes filled with cream. It hides a small figure, la sorpresa<\/span>, and a dried bean, el haba<\/span>: whoever finds the bean traditionally pays for the rosc\u00f3n.<\/p>\n\n Pap\u00e1 Noel<\/span> has become common on 24 or 25 December, but several regions have their own figures: el Olentzero<\/span>, a charcoal burner who comes down from the mountains on 24 December in the Basque Country and Navarre; the Ti\u00f3 de Nadal<\/span> in Catalonia, a log that children look after in December and then tap with sticks while singing so that it “gives” sweets; the Apalpador<\/span> in Galicia, a tradition revived in recent decades.<\/p>\n\n Christmas in Latin America differs from Spain’s. In Mexico, las posadas<\/span> are held from 16 to 24 December; in many countries presents are opened at midnight on the 24th; in Colombia they come from el Ni\u00f1o Dios<\/span>; and in Argentina or Chile Christmas falls in summer. Present Spain’s customs as Spain’s.<\/p>\n\n Te deseo una feliz Navidad y un pr\u00f3spero a\u00f1o nuevo.<\/span>I wish you a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.<\/small><\/p>\n\n En Nochebuena cenamos con mis abuelos.<\/span>On Christmas Eve we have dinner with my grandparents.<\/small><\/p>\n\n Los Reyes Magos me han tra\u00eddo un libro.<\/span>The Three Kings have brought me a book.<\/small><\/p>\n\n A note on capitals: festivals take a capital (Navidad<\/span>, Nochebuena<\/span>, Reyes<\/span>, A\u00f1o Nuevo<\/span> for 1 January), but months do not. In the wish feliz a\u00f1o nuevo<\/span>, style guides such as the Fund\u00e9u recommend lower case, because it means “the coming year”; you will often see capitals too.<\/p>\n\n The Spanish festival days appear in the routine on the day itself, so the calendar does the teaching. The catch: most Spanish Christmas dates fall in the UK holidays, so plan ahead.<\/p>\n\n Reyes, on 6 January, often falls just as UK schools return: a perfect first lesson back. Ask pupils what the Kings brought them (\u00bfQu\u00e9 te han tra\u00eddo los Reyes?<\/span>), even if in the UK it was Father Christmas.<\/p>\n\n At KS2, the grapes and the Kings are enough to fascinate. At KS3, use the dates to practise numbers and the calendar. At GCSE, Christmas is a classic topic for describing a past celebration and comparing traditions.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" El Gordo, Nochebuena, the twelve grapes and the Three Kings: Christmas in Spain date by date, with vocabulary and greetings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":22,"template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Christmas in Spain: Dates and Traditions | VocaDial","_seopress_titles_desc":"Christmas in Spain from El Gordo to Reyes: Nochebuena, Santos Inocentes, the twelve grapes, rosc\u00f3n, regional customs, greetings and ideas for class.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_vd_topic":"noel","_vd_target":"es","_vd_module":"dias","_vd_level":"A1\u2013B1","_vd_minutes":"8","_vd_card_word":"turr\u00f3n\u2026","_vd_answer":"Christmas in Spain runs from 22 December, the day of the Christmas lottery draw, to 6 January, the Day of the Three Kings. The key dates are Nochebuena<\/span> (24 December, family dinner), Navidad<\/span> (25 December), el D\u00eda de los Santos Inocentes<\/span> (28 December, pranks), Nochevieja<\/span> (31 December, twelve grapes at midnight) and Reyes<\/span> (6 January), the traditional day for children's presents.","_vd_faq":"[{\"q\":\"How is Christmas celebrated in Spain?\",\"a\":\"With a family dinner on Nochebuena<\\\/span> (24 December), lunch on Christmas Day, pranks on 28 December, twelve grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve and presents from the Three Kings on 6 January.\"},{\"q\":\"When do Spanish children get their Christmas presents?\",\"a\":\"Traditionally on 6 January, from the Three Kings (los Reyes Magos<\\\/span>). Many families now also have presents from Pap\u00e1 Noel on 24 or 25 December.\"},{\"q\":\"What is El Gordo?\",\"a\":\"The top prize of Spain's Christmas lottery, drawn on 22 December in Madrid. The numbers are sung by pupils of the Colegio de San Ildefonso.\"},{\"q\":\"What is the tradition of the twelve grapes?\",\"a\":\"At midnight on New Year's Eve, Spaniards eat one grape on each of the twelve chimes of the Puerta del Sol clock, for luck in the twelve months ahead.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you say Happy Christmas in Spanish?\",\"a\":\"\u00a1Feliz Navidad!<\\\/span> Also \u00a1Felices fiestas!<\\\/span> and, for the New Year, \u00a1Feliz a\u00f1o nuevo!<\\\/span> or \u00a1Pr\u00f3spero a\u00f1o nuevo!<\\\/span>\"},{\"q\":\"What is the D\u00eda de los Santos Inocentes?\",\"a\":\"28 December, a day of pranks in Spain and much of Latin America, similar to April Fool's Day in the UK.\"}]","_vd_key":"noel-es","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-91","vd_ressource","type-vd_ressource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/91","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vd_ressource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/91\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Date<\/th> Name<\/th> Status<\/th> What happens<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> 8 December<\/td> la Inmaculada Concepci\u00f3n<\/td> national<\/td> often a long weekend, un puente<\/span>; lights and nativity scenes go up<\/td><\/tr> 22 December<\/td> el Sorteo de Navidad<\/td> tradition<\/td> the Christmas lottery draw; the top prize is el Gordo<\/span><\/td><\/tr> 24 December<\/td> Nochebuena<\/td> tradition<\/td> Christmas Eve family dinner; midnight Mass, la Misa del Gallo<\/span><\/td><\/tr> 25 December<\/td> Navidad<\/td> national<\/td> Christmas Day, family lunch<\/td><\/tr> 26 December<\/td> San Esteban<\/td> regional (Catalonia)<\/td> Sant Esteve<\/span>: another family meal, often canelones<\/span><\/td><\/tr> 28 December<\/td> los Santos Inocentes<\/td> tradition<\/td> pranks, inocentadas<\/span>: Spain’s April Fool’s Day<\/td><\/tr> 31 December<\/td> Nochevieja<\/td> tradition<\/td> twelve grapes on the twelve chimes of midnight<\/td><\/tr> 1 January<\/td> A\u00f1o Nuevo<\/td> national<\/td> New Year’s Day<\/td><\/tr> 5 January<\/td> la Cabalgata de Reyes<\/td> tradition<\/td> evening parade of the Three Kings<\/td><\/tr> 6 January<\/td> Reyes, la Epifan\u00eda<\/td> national<\/td> children open their presents; rosc\u00f3n de Reyes<\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n The traditions, date by date<\/h2>\n\n
22 December: El Gordo<\/h3>\n\n
24 and 25 December: Nochebuena and Navidad<\/h3>\n\n
28 December: los Santos Inocentes<\/h3>\n\n
31 December: the twelve grapes<\/h3>\n\n
5 and 6 January: los Reyes Magos<\/h3>\n\n
Regional gift-bringers<\/h3>\n\n
Christmas vocabulary and greetings<\/h2>\n\n
Spanish<\/th> English<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> la Navidad, las Navidades<\/td> Christmas<\/td><\/tr> la Nochebuena<\/td> Christmas Eve<\/td><\/tr> la Nochevieja<\/td> New Year’s Eve<\/td><\/tr> los Reyes Magos<\/td> the Three Wise Men<\/td><\/tr> el bel\u00e9n<\/td> the nativity scene<\/td><\/tr> el \u00e1rbol de Navidad<\/td> the Christmas tree<\/td><\/tr> el villancico<\/td> the carol<\/td><\/tr> el turr\u00f3n<\/td> nougat<\/td><\/tr> el rosc\u00f3n de Reyes<\/td> the Kings’ cake<\/td><\/tr> las uvas<\/td> the grapes<\/td><\/tr> las campanadas<\/td> the chimes<\/td><\/tr> el regalo<\/td> the present<\/td><\/tr> Pap\u00e1 Noel<\/td> Father Christmas<\/td><\/tr> \u00a1Feliz Navidad!<\/td> Happy Christmas!<\/td><\/tr> \u00a1Felices fiestas!<\/td> Happy holidays!<\/td><\/tr> \u00a1Feliz a\u00f1o nuevo!<\/td> Happy New Year!<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n
In class: Christmas in the daily routine<\/h2>\n\n
Adapting to your class<\/h3>\n\n