Our traditional Spanish Christmas in Madrid and (sound of bells) with helpMadrid. Aren’t you excited? This is our very last post about Christmas and before Christmas: this makes us both sad and excited. We have really enjoyed writing for you about this holiday and, in particular, about this holiday in Spain; we hope you have enjoyed it to and that you have discovered something new about this amazing country. For all our affectionate readers, in January we will be back with our columns about neighbourhoods, public transports and events. For now, Santa Claus is coming to town!
Back to today’s topic. Will you go home for Christmas? Well, if you have to stay here and you live in a shared flat, you should begin thinking about the plans for these holidays. helpMadrid has already some ideas to turn your shared flat into the perfect Christmas village, where you can experience the most interesting Christmas of your entire life. Yes, because living in a shared flat with people from all over the world will let you merge all your traditions and create a unique cultural experience.
Oh my word! As always we dwell at length on our talks and we miss the boat ahahahah. Let us describe you a bit today’s post. We will begin with some of the first Christmassy things that you may see, than we will talk about what you should do during the Christmas day and last, but not least, how to celebrate few days after Christmas…
Well, we guess we are ready to begin with our Spanish Christmas traditions (some of you may think “Finally!”).
Just few weeks before Christmas…
Christmas decorations
Christmas lights and Christmas decorations in Madrid are simply astonishing; they have even created an event when they turn them on for the first time ahahah. Since the last days of November, the atmosphere here becomes magical. Every corner of the street has decoration and every square a beautiful Christmas tree made of lights. If you have never been in Madrid for Christmas, you should definitely experience it once. Actually, this may be a good reason to move to the Spanish capital. Are you already looking for a shared flat? Ahahah.
Nativity Scenes
They nativity scenes, called Beléns, are quite common in Spain. Some of them are real masterpieces, plenty of details such as rivers, marketplaces and decorated buildings. What can you do for Christmas? Well, you can have a look at some of the prettiest nativity scenes in the city centre!
Loteria
This is something very Christmassy and very important here in Spain. The Christmas lottery is called “El Gordo” because you can win a huge amount of money: this is a very good reason to stand hours in lines to get your ticket! Actually, if you have seen many lines in the city centre, they are people waiting for their tickets.
For a truly Spanish Christmas Eve…
Christmas dinner
Christmas dinner is international, what changes are the delicious dishes that you can taste. We have already listed some of the main courses for the perfect Spanish Christmas Dinner. Now, it is your turn! Take pots and ladles and begin to cook ahahah. Meanwhile, we have some tapas… Writing makes us hungry.
Misa del Gallo
It is the traditional Midnight Christmas Mass and they have called it in this way because the cockerel has been (it is said so) the first creature to witness Christ’s birth. Well, interesting experience, isn’t it? Let’s meet there!
And that’s not all…
Dia de los Santos Inocentes
The 28th December is a great holiday here in Spain. Happy people everywhere, sweets and many jokes. Actually, we have never had celebrations like this right after Christmas. Therefore, we are super curious to experience it for the first time. We will let you know something more about it…
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Christmas is here and Santa is coming… Are you ready? Now you know all you have to do in order to celebrate a traditional Spanish Christmas. Have a walk in Madrid, enjoy lights and decorations and buy a ticket of the lottery. Have a tour of the best Nativities in town, eat many sweets (remember to renovate the gym membership!) and go to the Misa del Gallo. This experience with helpMadrid is getting interesting, isn’t it?
But remember, in order to spend the perfect Christmas, the most important ingredient are the people who will spend this holiday with you. By living in a shared flat, you will have the chance to meet people from all over the world who will probably spend important moments with you, such as Christmas holidays. Therefore, choose carefully your accommodation: as helpMadrid always suggests, a shared flat may be the perfect solution for you.
We turned into Christmas elves and we got into Christmas spirit, so, we are officially ready to welcome Santa next week! Very last suggestions before Christmas:
- If you still have to buy some presents, have a look at our list.
- If you are the designated chef, have a look at our Christmas dinner
- If you have some free time, get around the Christmas markets!
That’s it for today…
helpMadrid wishes you a Merry Christmas