24th December – Christmas Eve is called Nochebuena in Spanish (Goodnight) and it is the most important family gathering of the year.
In the evening people often meet early for a few drinks with friends then return home to enjoy a meal with the family. Most bars and restaurants close in the evening.
Prawn starters followed by roast lamb would be a typical meal rounded off with a typically Christmas sweet called turrón which is a nougat made of toasted sweet almonds. You see this on sale everywhere.
Another typical festive sweet is called Polvorones, which is made from almonds, flour and sugar. Cava, Catalan champagne, would be the chosen drink for the Christmas toast though plenty fine Spanish wines will also be consumed with the meal.
25th December – Children may receive a small gift on Nochebuena or this morning but the day for presents is 6th January, Epiphany, when the Three Kings bring gifts for the children.
Christmas Day is a national holiday in Spain and shops are closed but it is not a day of great celebration but rather a calm day when people go out for a walk, drop into a bar, etc.
Another large family meal at lunchtime is common though it’s becoming more common to see families eating out on the afternoon of Christmas day.
28th December – This is the day of Santos Inocentes (Holy Innocents) and is the equivalent of April Fools’ Day when people play practical jokes on one another. Often the national media will include a nonsense story in their broadcasts.
31st December – New Year’s Eve is known as NocheVieja.
It is a big celebration all over the country with street parties and special nights in hotels and clubs everywhere. Until midnight people tend to stay at home and on the stroke of midnight it is traditional to eat 12 grapes, one on each stroke of the clock to bring good luck for the New Year.
In Madrid and other main cities revellers congregate in the main square and eat the grapes along with a celebratory bottle of cava then head out into the night until after sunrise.