Christmas+Customs+of+Spain

=**The purpose of this page is to identify various Christmas**= =**customs in Spain. (Hobbie)**= ==

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==Children decorate logs and take care of them like pets. Then on Christmas Day, children hit the logs with sticks and sing a song. Parents hide gifts under the cover of the log and the children then find these little gifts.==

==**Christmas Eve is La Noche Buena, the Blessed Night. When the first star shines in the evening sky, people light bonfires, called luminarias, in public squares and outside church walls. Traditional plays called Las Pastores depict the shepherds' adoration of the Christ Child in Bethlehem. (Savannah)**== ==**Children believe that on Epiphany Eve, January 5, the Three Kings travel through Spain on their way to Bethlehem. That night children set out their shoes filled with straw for the Three Kings' camels. The Kings, passing in the night, fill the shoes with gifts. The next day, families enjoy a feast of almond soup, turkey, and roasted chestnuts**. (Savannah)==

==**The three Wise men are seen everywhere in Spain at Christmas, visiting hospitals, orphanages, etc. The men who dress up in various "Wise men" garments are from all walks of life. The legend tells of the three Wise men traveling through the country on their way to Bethlehem. It is not Santa who comes to Spain bearing gifts, but the Three Wise Men. The Spanish Christmas continues for a few weeks after Dec. 25th.**== ==**Christmas is a deeply religious holiday in Spain. In Spain it is a very festive time at Christmas. On Christmas Eve, as the stars come out, tiny oil lamps are lit in every house, and after Midnight Mass and Christmas Dinner, streets fill with dancers and onlookers. There is a special Christmas dance called the Jota and the words and music have been handed down for hundreds of years. They dance to the sound of guitars and castanets.**== ==**Christmas Eve is known as Nochebuena or "the Good Night." It is a time for family members to gather together to rejoice and feast around the Nativity scenes that are present in nearly every home. A traditional Christmas treat is turron, a kind of almond candy.**== ==**December 28 is the feast of the Holy Innocents. Young boys of a town or village light bonfires and one of them acts as the mayor who orders townspeople to perform civic chores such as sweeping the streets. Refusal to comply results in fines which are used to pay for the celebration. (Dylan)**==

==**Christmas Day is set aside for family reunions, when relatives get together for more feasting. The children sing and dance around the nacimiento. Family members exchange gifts, and friends and neighbors exchange holiday sweets. Some families add to the fun with the traditional Urn of Fate. Names are written on cards and placed in a bowl. Then two names are drawn at a time. Those two people will be friendly to each other throughout the coming year.(Chloe)**==