30-08-2005, 21:24
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Pat's Spanish Christmas
Pat Boyle de Merino will be celebrating the festive season in the sunshine. For she now lives on the beautiful island of Mallorca! Pat…….grew up in the town and studied at Galashiels Academy, before going on to establish a singing career at The Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow. She later married a Spanish hotelier and settled in Mallorca, where she works as Assistant Director of an International school on the island. She continues to enjoy singing and regularly tours with the Balearic University choir. Here Pat describes what it is like to celebrate Christmas in Spain.
“………I was asked recently to compare a Spanish Christmas with a Scottish one.
Certainly, the first and most obvious difference that springs to mind is that Christmas holidays here are usually bathed in brilliant sunshine- a marked contrast to the somewhat “dreich” Christmas weather of my youth in Galashiels!
In the Balearic Islands where I live, snow and ice are virtually unknown, except perhaps on the peaks of the very highest mountain, and on very rare occasions. And so the first obvious difference has to be the good weather!
Growing up as a child in Galashiels, I thought ice and snow were wonderful and sledging and slides great fun…. Now, a little older and not quite as hardy as I used to be, I have become accustomed to the warm and pleasant sunshine of December days in Mallorca.
“Definitely gone soft”, I hear you say!
Whereas Christmas Day in Scotland was always the “main event”, here in Spain “Nochebuena”(Christmas Eve) is more widely celebrated.
It is traditional on that evening for the family to get together over a special meal, followed by a visit to church for the midnight service. Palma’s huge and beautiful cathedral is always packed for the Midnight Mass.
Afterwards, people fill the many cafes and bars to meet friends and enjoy traditional thick hot chocolate and ensaimadas. The atmosphere is happy, and the streets safe for families and friends to mingle freely in the early hours of Christmas Day.
In Spain gifts are generally not exchanged at Christmas, but rather on January 6, the feast of The Three Kings.
On the night of January 5, the three Kings arrive on the island by boat, and are welcomed by crowds of excited children. The Kings ride through the streets on horseback or on camels and throw sweets to the children, all the while surrounded by fireworks, music and decorated floats.
Before bed the little ones leave out a shoe filled with straw, in the hope that the camels will stop at their house, and in return the Kings will leave gifts for the children.
During my very first Christmas in Spain, I was surprised to find no house had a Christmas tree, rather every house had it’s own nativity scene and crib, called “Belen” (Bethlehem). Each year Spanish families lovingly set out the “Belen” which has been passed down through the generations and carefully preserved-indeed some are real works of art.
Nowadays, a Christmas tree is becoming more common, as customs from other countries are absorbed into everyday life.
In recent years, even Santa has become more popular, and some children are lucky enough to receive gifts from both Father Christmas and The Three Kings!.
I would venture to say that Christmas in Spain is less commercialized than it is in Britain, although, it is fast catching up!
New year in Spain is nothing like as boisterous a night as Hogmanay- in fact Scots would find it pretty tame by comparison!
People like to dress formally and go out for dinner and as midnight strikes the traditional “12 lucky grapes” are eaten, one for each chime of the clock, along with a glass of Spanish “Cava” of Champagne.
In the old days I got some strange looks when I used to appear with a bottle in one hand and a lump of coal in the other, refusing fair-haired friends the right to “First-Foot”. But then surely our differences are ultimately what make life so interesting!
Of course I have not forgotten my roots, nor the traditions which made the Christmases of my childhood in Galashiels so very special.
Here within my own family we have maintained those customs, and have adopted many of the new ones as well. It is nice to be able to enjoy the best of both worlds!
And so on that note all that remains for me to say to old friends and neighbors in Galashiels, is “Feliz Navidad!”- A Happy Christmas and a Guid New Year to all! “
Taken from the Border Telegraph December 21,2004
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, like a lot of other very interesting posts. luckily I had kept the article and just had to retype it.
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