The climate and the language differ and so does Christmas in Spain. The Spanish customs and traditions in small towns also will differ than in the big cities. In Spain there are two regions, the north and the south. They are very different from another. The northern regions decorate their homes with holly and mistletoe when the nativity comes. The southern region decorates their homes with geraniums and heliotrope. You can see so much of the difference because of the climate and the culture. In the northern region it snows and it really never snows in the south. The cultures in the north are more of Roman and European because they refused the Muslim rule. In the south is influenced by Asiatic and Saracen culture.

The Pyreneans believe that the last night of the year, fairies or hades are suppose to come and bring good luck in the right hand and bad luck in the left hand. Families leave the door open that night and they provide open, spotless room that is supplied with bread and wine. The next morning which is New Years Day, the man of the house checks the room. The bread that is left over is split upon the other family members.

After Christmas the time between Christmas and the day of the three kings most families spend browsing looking for gifts. This is a time when children tell their parents what they want from the kings. The children write letters to the kings just like we write letters to Santa Claus. People dress as the three kings just like we dress for as Santa Claus and visit hospitals, orphanages, and do other charity projects just like Santa Claus does.

After dinner many go out and sing Christmas carols. Every one will bring out their guitars and other instruments. The songs they sing are known as villancicos. They also gather around their Christmas tree and sing villancicos. Most of the Christmas songs sang are hymns of Christendom. An Old Spanish verse goes like this: Esta noche es Noche-Buena, Y no es noche de domir; meaning that, this is the good night, therefore it is not meant for sleep. A common song sang is El cant dels ocells, which mean carol of the birds.

The Catalonian villagers have a way of celebrating where the young boys drag a Yule log around the streets beating in as a sign for good luck for the year to come. At the houses where they stop they are given nuts or gifts.

On December 28 is the Day of the Holy Innocents or Dia de Los Santos Inocentes. It is equivalent to April Fools Day because they both play jokes on people. They got this day by when the kings reach Bethlehem, Herod decides to kill all the new born Jewish babies to avoid trouble, so on December 28th it is the day that the Spanish have for all the victims of Herod's kill. In some parts of Spain young boys light bonfires and one of them act like the mayor who orders townspeople around to perform civic chores such as sweeping the streets. Refusal to do these chores results in fines which are used to pay for the celebration.

That night every family member leaves out their shoes hoping that the kings will come and fill them with treats and gifts. If a child or an adult has been rotten then they would get coal in their shoe. Before they go to bed that night they take they three kings from the nacimentos and they move them to by the baby Jesus' crib instead of being on a hill or in the town of Bethlehem. They move them because the kings have reached their destination in their journey. They children that night are very anxious for the kings to come.

are many celebrations that the Spanish celebrate during the Christmas holiday. Christmas starts in Spain on December 1 to some people because that is when they start their advent calendars. Advent calendars are calendars that have a piece of candy or a treat for each day. Every day you get a treat but before you get it you have to say what you are thankful for. The calendar counts up to Christmas Eve. The other holidays are Immaculada, which is on December 8th, Christmas Eve, which is on December 24, Christmas day, which is on December 25, the Day of the Holy Innocents, which is on December 28th, The Day of the Three Kings Eve, which is on January 5th , and the Day of the Three Kings which is also known as epiphany is on January 6th. Within all of these celebrations there are certain parts throughout Spain that have different customs.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Reyes Magos, Madrid Spain, Urn Fate, Noche Buena, Eve Nocheviejo, December Christmas, El Natal, Bethlehem Herod, Christmas Eve, Spain Spanish, day kings, christmas eve, christmas day, santa claus, baby jesus, throughout spain, people dress, january 6th, immaculada december 8th, 28th day, los reyes, means happy holiday, christmas day kings, day holy innocents, los reyes magos,
Approximate Word count = 2631
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)