Christmas In Spain
It's usual to get amazed when someone finds out that Christmas is celebrated in a different way. But Spanish Christmas is very different. It sounds strange but Christmas starts in Spain on December 22nd. That's the day of the Loteria de Navidad (Christmas Lottery). In our opinion is one of the most touching days of the year. Every Spaniard (literally) buys tickets for this lottery, so everybody is looking forward to knowing which are the wining numbers. All the media cover the event live, and the village or neighborhood which has the luck to be the place where the Gordo (the first prize) was sold, is the star of the day. The night of the 24th (Nochebuena which means Good Night) is one of the two main events. People use to have dinner with their family, and this very special meal is the chance to show all the power of the Spanish gastronomy. The menus vary from region to region but they are all very rich : seafood, besugo (a kind of fish), turkey (an imported American tradition!), cod with cauliflower... But the desserts are maybe the most traditional dishes. Spanish Christmas desserts are really delicious, and most of them have an Arab origin (Arabs stayed in Spain for more than seven centuries).
After dinner, religious people go to church in that night to assist to Misa del Gallo (in the first hours of the 25th). Commemorates Jesus' birth. The 28th of December is Innocents' Day, and during this day people play inocentadas to friends and relatives: people make jokes hoping that the victim believe the false thing. When people get caught, the joker says: "inocente, inocente" (innocent, innocent). This day the newspapers and other media tell false news for the people to find out. New Years' Eve is also a family celebration. All the members of the family gather together for dinner. Again the menus of the 24th and the Spanish gastronomy appear as main stars. But at 12 p.m. o'clock people switch on the radio or the TV to listen to the clock when it strikes 12, and eat the 12 grapes, one for each strike. This is quite a recent but strong tradition, and the key is to finish all the grapes when the clock reaches the last strike. Then we wish each other a happy new year, and we ! "Esta noche es Noche-Buena, Y no es noche de dormir" (This is the goodnight, therefore it is not meant for sleep.) One good saying that is said in Spain is this: Un villancico suena por encima del bullicio de la ciudad, la gente inunda las calles y se pasea buscando los regalos que en la maņana del 6 de enero y junto al arbol de Navidad, todos los miembros de la familia descubren con
Some common words found in the essay are:
Years' Eve, Reyes Magos, Christmas Lottery, La Cabalgata, Innocents' Day, Spain Esta, Named Hogueras, Mazapanes Marzipan, Spanish Christmas, Jesus Christ, la cabalgata, la cabalgata de, cabalgata de, spanish gastronomy, de los, los reyes, reyes magos, people play, false people, los reyes magos, celebration family, de los reyes, de la,
Approximate Word count = 927
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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