Print this PostHappy New Year to everyone! This is the second New Year that I have spent in Spain and, after ”living” the holiday twice here, I thought I’d write a short post to tell those of you who are less familiar with Spain’s traditions a little about the holiday. Basically, if you’re a Spaniard about to “ring in the New Year in style,” you need two essential items in very large quantities: grapes and fireworks. Let me explain:
Essential item #1 — Grapes: Grapes are used during the final New Year’s Eve countdown right before midnight. As Spaniards are counting down the final twelve seconds of the year, they eat grapes — one grape for each second marked by the clock. As a result, it’s very typical to buy large amounts of grapes right before New Year’s Eve and then sit in front of the TV with your family on December 31st to eat the grapes during the “official countdown,” which is televised live from Madrid.
Essential item #2 — Fireworks: After counting down the final twelve seconds of the old year, Spaniards grab their fireworks, firecrackers, and other miscellaneous, loud pyrotechnic devices and head for the streets. In fact, there are usually so many Spaniards on the streets shooting off fireworks just after midnight that the entire city fills with smoke and sounds like a war zone. To be quite honest, the first time I saw this happening last year I didn’t really know what to think — it appeared to me to be a loud, dangerous pandemonium with fireworks flying everywhere. I still wonder how more people don’t have accidents with all those firecrackers going off everywhere. In any event, along with the grapes, fireworks are a “must” on any Spanish New Year shopping list.
There you have it. Two “essential items” for the New Year in Spain. What are your “New Year Essentials?” Tell me in a comment below!
Hasta luego,
–Chris
http://abroadinspain.com
These thing with the fireworks must be typical from Burgos… hahaha Here in Gijón I’ve never seen it. Maybe one or two but it’s not a “tradition”
@Victor – I can’t believe they don’t do the fireworks thing in Gijón…. it’s a big tradition here in Burgos. Anybody else from Spain know if it’s done in other parts of the country?
I’m from Leon and fireworks are not traditional here either. Must be a Burgos thing. Happy 2010!
@Rebeca – I can’t believe that fireworks are not traditional there either… it must be a Burgos thing… you don’t even use the little “petardos” that make noise and go boom? Strange, considering how common it is here.
Chris, traditions in Spain are sometimes very local. From a village to another one next to it, traditions can change a lot.
Sorry Chris, we don’t even use “petardos”, we just eat our grapes and go out to party! As Victor said, it’s not unusual that villages or cities have different traditions.
@Rebeca and Victor – Yes, I guess you’re right. The fireworks must be a Burgos thing. Next year for New Years you should both buy fireworks and try to “spread” the tradition to Gijón and León… a ver si se pone de moda la “nochevieja burgalesa” con fuegos artificiales y petardos.
Essential items ‘Grapes and Fireworks’ great blog and i never thought i’d see those two in the same list!
In Palma people goes crazy with fireworks too. Really hard-noisy stuff. You can hear fireworks from 9pm until 4 or 5 am, simply crazy. Of course the biggest concentration of “amateur firework lightning” comes just after the grapes thing but still you know you’ll have ahead like 40 minutes at least of fuego cruzado. Fortunately there’s not many accidents, although every year there’s at least one firework exploding in our terrace (it’s quite big, and it’s very exposed in front of all our neighbourhood. I remember one year seeing a car set on fire in the street because one of those little tomahawks
Happy new year.
@David – Thanks for the comment. I’m glad to know that this is done in other parts of Spain and it’s not only done in Burgos. I especially like how you described the 40 minutes of “fuego cruzado…” I guess I’m not the only one who sees this tradition as a bit dangerous.
Yup, only the grapes in the town I live. No such things as fireworks, apart from the few guiris that can’t do without it.
I think it depends on the region, as they each have their own traditions.
I first experienced a Spanish new year celebration in 1989/90 and I agree it seems really dangerous. My friends and I had a rocket explode right in the middle of us all … and we just had a bit of ringing in our ears, it could have been much worse.
Nowadays, I would settle for a nice bottle of Rioja and a baked potato for my new years celebrations … but I’m 43 now and feeling it. Pass me the slippers, time for an early night
Hi Chris, I’m from Barcelona and here fireworks are not typical at all for new years eve. Grapes are of course traditional everywhere of spain but fireworks? maybe it is just a Burgo’s thing or only in some cities or towns in Spain.
Ya I’m agree with the other spaniards here, being myself one. Spanish traditions are very different from region to region and even from village to village in the same region even if they are just 2 km away from each other! Every region in spain (authonomous community) has its own culture, traditions, gastronomy, folkloric music, folkloric dance, mitology and even language or dialect! so Spain is all less homogeneos so you can never talk about Spanish food or spanish culture because eventhough all regions share something in common like the use of the olive oil for cooking etc the res it just depends on the regions or area or village your are living in! Some times we as spaniards get shocked of how people from other countries think that spain is. Some times I heard stories of people thinking that spain was a dry country, that the food was spicy, that everybody here loved bullfights, that we take naps every now and then, that stores close at midday because of the siesta thing (when of course the truth is that they close because it is the lunch time and in some villages or neighbourhoos they close at mid day to go home and have lunch since here lunch is the most important meal just like in italy and not the dinner like in other countries) and also that flamenco was the traditional spanish music! when flamenco it is just a gipsy music that almost everybody hates in spain of course not because it is gipsy but because it is not a music that we like. I think that tourists are who like this music not us!
In Almachar, Malaga, we do lots of grapes, lots of parties and lots of fireworks too. At midnight on New Years Eve there is usually 30 minutes of fireworks. Come and see it for yourself!