6 Christmas Traditions Celebrated in Spain

One of the things I miss about spending the holidays in Spain, are some of the traditions. Here are some of the traditions that are pretty unique:

• Caga Tio: This is a unique tradition from Catalonia and literally means “The Uncle that Poops.“ Yes, you read it right. As weird as it sounds, thousands of kids in Barcelona gather one day around a log with eyes and nose and hit it three times until he “poops” your candies. It’s a tradition born in the 1960s but it has a very ancient pagan origin of the need to wake up sleeping nature during winter. Catalans just took it to another level adding a smiley face, a hat and a blanket so the log gets cozy.

• Midnight Mass: Being a Catholic country, the Christmas church services are a very important part of Christmas for Spaniards. Many people go to a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, known as La Misa Del Gallo (The Mass of the Rooster), because a rooster supposedly crowed the night Jesus was born.

• Fools Day: While in the USA that is on April 1st, in Spain we schedule it for December 28th. So if you think you get to relax right after Christmas day, you are wrong. You should watch your back for what’s about to happen on December 28th!  It’s the day for playing harmless pranks or dressing up in funny wigs, glasses and hats, and once you prank someone, you shout “Inocente, inocente!”

• Eating Grapes in New Years Eve: This is probably my favorite, even though is a total choking hazard, and there is nothing less flattering than starting the year with the mouth full of grapes. However, the laughs you get by seeing all your family and friends doing that is priceless. This Spanish tradition consists of eating a grape with each clock bell strike at midnight of December 31 to welcome the New Year since eating the 12 grapes leads to a year of good luck and prosperity. Problem is, it’s almost impossible to swallow the 12 grapes in time (especially now that the grapes are GMO and keep getting bigger and bigger) so if you do it, you know that is going to be your year! Because if you can do that, you can do anything.

• Los Tres Reyes Magos: Santa, take a seat back, because the three wise men are the protagonists in the Spanish households. As opposed to bringing presents on Christmas eve, the Three Reyes Magos make an appearance fashionably late, right the night of January 5th (they totally miss Jesus birthday…)

• Rosca de Reyes: And on January 6th right after opening all the presents the Reyes Magos have brought you, you get to do what you did best during the holidays; eating and for dessert, make sure you make room for the traditional Roscon de Reyes, a sweet bread-like cake often filled with cream and topped with dried fruits, very yummy. It has two plastic-wrapped figurines inside the roscón: a dried fava bean and a small king-shaped figurine. If you get the fava, you pay for the roscón next year. If you get the king-figurine, you’ll become the King or Queen of the banquet! Also another choking hazard, so careful, don’t swallow too quickly.

Which of these Spaniard Holidays traditions did you like the most?