Christmas

Hello All!! I thought I would write about Christmas - both what it is like celebrating in Spain and also what I am thinking about Christmas right now. Christmas was not a really big holiday when we arrived in 1995. They celebrated Three Kings' Day much bigger than Christmas - because that's the day they gave their gifts. Three Kings' Day is the 6th of January. They do it this day because it is supposed to be the day that the 'three kings' made it to the stable. I'll talk more about this later (probably) but I'll leave it for now. They hang lights over the streets - the local governments do. Our first Christmas here in Spain, in Zaragoza, the only Christmas lights we saw hung on a 'home' were the ones in the windows of our friends' apartment who are Americans!! Christmas Eve was the time to spend time with family and eat lots of good food. Seafood is a very typical meal here during these holidays as is turkey. You see lots of seafood in the stores at this time of year - even the Spanish delicacy - baby eels!! The first time I saw them, I thought they were a type of pasta - but was surprised that they were in the seafood section. I realized that they were probably NOT what they appeared to be!! I walked away. :-) We like to keep our particular traditions even thought they might be contrary to or 'out of the box' of what Spaniards think is normal. We put up a fairly 'American' size Christmas tree even thought smaller ones here are the norm. They also don't typically get freshly cut trees. They are much more expensive and don't seem to last through the holidays - especially if the holidays last until the 6th of January!! We Americans like to decorate our homes!! Coordinating dinnerware and table runner, along with centerpieces and garland all over the place is typical. Not so here in Spain. They are typically much more subdued in their Christmas decor. But a MUST in most homes is a 'Belen' which is the Spanish word for Bethlehem. It is their manger scene. They spend BIG bucks on pieces for their own nativity scene. And many times it's not just the stable but the whole village and countryside around Bethlehem. One thing that I learned just this year is that many manger scenes have a piece called 'el cagon' that they hide in the scene somewhere. It can be a shepherd or someone else but they are, excuse me, pooping. Their pants are pulled down and you can see it!! Gross!! I don't get that one!! We don't plan to get one for OUR nativity!! Just about every city or small town has their neighborhood Nativity Scene. They don't have the problem here like they have in the States about removing Christ from Christmas. He has been so effectively removed from their everyday lives that it is irrelevant whether he is in their Christmas. They recognize that Christmas centers around 'Christ'. But here he is a fairy tale - he makes little difference in their day to day lives, so he is therefore not a threat to have him in their Christmas. It is very sad I think I will save my thoughts about Christmas for another post. Blessed Christmas to you all!! Jill