Belated Holiday Post

So, holidays in Spain are rather different from holidays in the Ango-Saxon countries, so much so that they really do deserve a blog post even though I've been putting it off.

1.) Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) It's traditional to have a big, expensive dinner at home the night before Christmas, usually seafood. I had a difficult time trying to my students the English words for some of the things they eat, because I just don't have a word for the animal that is bigger than a crawdad but smaller than a lobster. Small lobster just didn't cut it.

2.) Navedad (Christmas) The day for papa noel! Some kids get gifts this day, but it's not traditional. The whole holiday season is referred to as navedades. More eating is of course required. I later read a newspaper article claiming that the average Spaniard gains 6 kilos over the holidays, but that is a lot of weight and I don't know where they got that number from. I suspect that they do the same thing I do, which is make up numbers for the sake of having numbers. The traditional food (well, candy) for this day is turrón, which is an almond-based sweet that comes in a variety of forms. 

Here we have turrón duro and turrón blando (hard and soft turron). The hard kind is kind of like peanut brittle, and the soft kind is kind of like that last little bit of peanut butter in the bottom of the jar that never got mixed in very well, but almondy and sweet and tasty.

3.) Nochevieja (New Years Eve) This is a really big deal in Spain, much more so than the states. At midnight, you are supposed to eat 12 (twelve) grapes in quick succession, one with each toll of the bell. You can even buy 12-packs of peeled, skinless grapes at the supermarket. This seemed like cheating to me, and I bought real grapes, and so did everyone I invited over for the grape-eating. I was still finding seeds around the flat like a week afterwards. 

Sarah and I trying to eat grapes and not choke. Fortunately no Heimlich Maneuvers were preformed that night. We also went to a New Years party hosted by some of Sarah's friends where we drank cava (Spanish champagne) and red wine with coca-cola, which isn't that bad really.

At least I finally had a chance to wear that dress I bought with Shelby in Bham. Also, since when am I the tall one? This never happens.

4.) Los Reyes Magos (Three Wise Men Day) I'm actually not sure what to call this day in English, because it's not a thing I've ever known anyone to celebrate. This is the traditional gift-giving day, which frankly makes more sense. The three wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus, and now they bring gifts to all the children everywhere. I'm not even sure where exactly Santa Clause comes into the picture. It is also traditional to have a parade in town, which I didn't know until later, so I missed out. The traditional food for this day is el roscón de reyes, which is a cake-type dessert shaped like a doughnut. 

Pretty delicious. I invited some auxiliares over for dinner, and one of them brought a little roscón to share.