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As part of the Christmas festivities in Burgos, a "Christmas Fair" was set up in the Plaza Mayor in which people purchased crafts from local vendors.
I’ve decided to title this post “Merry (ongoing) Christmas.” You may be asking yourself why I’ve put the word “ongoing” in the title and the answer is really rather simple: in Spain, Christmas is not over yet. In fact, I’ve discovered that the Spanish love to “make the most” of their holidays — no matter how big or how small they are — and that’s exactly what they’ve done with Christmas (you’ll see what I mean in a moment).
In the USA, Christmas is usually celebrated on the 24th and 25th of December with a large dinner, the exchanging of gifts, and the arrival of Santa Claus. Later, we typically celebrate the coming of the New Year; but, once January 2nd arrives, the holiday season is pretty much over for us. In Spain, on the contrary, Christmas is “stretched” from the 24th of December to the 6th of January. How can this be? The answer to that question lies in two very important words: the Epiphany.
You see, here in Spain gifts are exchanged on the 24th and 25th of December much like in the USA; however, people then celebrate New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and then celebrate the Epiphany. As a result, the whole Christmas season becomes a bit “blurred” and stretches from the 24th of December all the way to the 6th of January, which is the day that the Three Kings visit children’s homes to deliver gifts (much in the way that Santa visits homes in the USA).
Personally, I have mixed feelings about this “stretching” of Christmas. On the one hand, I think it’s a bit unfair that most Spanish children get to receive gifts from Santa on the 25th and then again from the Three Kings on the 6th — I wish I had been that lucky when I was a kid. Also, because Christmas isn’t really over in Spain until the Epiphany, it seems to me that Christmas here is a bit perpetual – today is the 31st of December and I’m still hearing Christmas carols on the radio and people are still in stores doing Christmas shopping for Kings’ Day. On the other hand, of course, I think it’s really nice that people in Spain have such a long holiday to relax and spend time with their families.
In any event, I’d like to hear what you think about all this. How much Christmas is “too much?” Whether you’re from Spain, the USA, or some other part of the world, please leave a comment explaining your thoughts on the subject and your personal Christmas traditions.
Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com
Well… It’s not exactly holiday… hahaha The only “extra holiday” we have is 6th of january. The rest of the time people work… And traditionally the exchange of presents in Spain is in Reyes, but lately many people started to exchange some presents (normally less than in reyes, just a detail) on the 24th.
It’s as if I said that Christmas in the USA is very long because we can consider it starts with Thanksgiving wich is a celebration we don’t have here… hahaha
@Victor – Yes, I see your point. People do work between Christmas and Reyes; however, it’s still different when compared with the USA. For example, I’m really surprised that I still hear Christmas carols here because in the USA after the 25th everything is effectively “over.” I’m also surprised that people are still Christmas shopping (on the 25th the shopping season in the USA is over). I guess that’s what I meant by Christmas being “perpetual” here… heheh Not that a long Christmas is a bad thing
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I have to say that the “extended Christmas” is wonderful. The season zoomed past so fast this year (due to school, work and other things that preoccupy our minds) I barely felt that Christmas happened at all. I didn’t even start my shopping until the 23rd, many people got “IOU’s until the malls died down”. It is truly my favorite time of the year though; I wish that we actually celebrated ALL the 12 days of Christmas. I personally love the Christmas carols and the overall sense of joy and jollity.
P.S. I just stumbled across your blog and felt its great information for students studying abroad. I am going to Sevilla in a couple of weeks and wish I found this sooner. I’ll recommend it to all my other friends who are going across the Atlantic with me. Saludos!
@Ty – Glad to hear that you found my site useful. Good luck on your trip to Sevilla and thanks for the comment!