HOLIDAYS

SPANISH HOLIDAYS

Ano Nuevo (New Year's Day)
January 1st

Dia de los reyes (Epiphany)
January 6th

Jueves Santos (Ascension Day)
March or April

Viernes Santo (Good Friday) March or April

Dia de Pascua ( Easter Sunday) March or April

Dia del trabajo (Labor Day)
May 1st

Asuncion ( Assumption Day)
August 15th

Dia de la Hispanidad (National Spanish Holiday)
October 12th

Todos Los Santos (All Saints' Day)
November 1st

Dia de la constitucion) (Constitution Day)
December 6th

immaculada concepcion (Immaculate Conception)December 8th

Navidad (Christmas) December 25th

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS

Christmas is a Christian holiday that is spent with the family. It's also the occasion to admire the many magnificent nativity scenes in each church, and even the living nativity scenes with live actors in costume. On Christmas Eve, families get together for a meal before going to midnight mass at the nearby church. The only presents exchanged for the occasion are large wicker baskets, often with many different layers, filled with wine, ham, and candies, offered by friends. New Year's Eve takes place out in the streets. In Madrid, the crowd gathers at the puerta del sol and each person swallows one grape for each strike of the bell at midnight, as do all the Spaniards who have stayed at home. Epiphany provides the occasion for exchanging presents among family members, after having shared the king's cake "roscon", which closely resembles French brioche. The person who gets the charm in his piece of cake gets a surprise.