Christmas in three stages

You can only tell it is advent in Madrid because of the hustle and bustle of shoppers each evening on the festively-lit streets. There’s a Christmas Market, but it’s unlike those that are typically found in Germany where visitors drink mulled wine to fight off the cold weather. This one has toys for sale in brightly-decorated stands.

Christmas is usually celebrated in three stages.

Christmas Eve: Traditionally, we don’t place any gifts under the tree on Christmas Eve. Instead, we have a celebration where we all feast while seated at a decorated table.
The feast begins at 10:00 p.m. with the immediate family including children who are older than five. And everyone dresses up.
The meal usually starts with a fancy appetizer , preferably seafood. Then, a large fish is served. Instead of carp, “besugo”. For dessert we have everyone’s favorite: chocolate mousse.
Dinner is served with wine and Champagne and even Coca-Cola for the kids – so that they stay awake until midnight mass.
This humbly-named feast continues until just before midnight and the main event: The whole family goes to midnight mass to celebrate Christ’s birth with typical “Villancicos” – joyous, Spanish Christmas hymns. After the reading of the Christmas story, children and grown-ups alike marvel at a gigantic manger that has been constructed in the church. Many of these manger scenes are real, award-winning pieces of art from the 16th century.

On December 25, we celebrate the typical Christmas.
The children help to set up a manger inside the house. Each year, we purchase a couple of new figures at the Christmas market and add them to the display. Around 2:00 p.m., the whole family gets together for the biggest feast of the year.

We set the table with the finest dinnerware in the house – usually famous and French and only used once every 12 months. It is usually a five-course meal with a roast and lots of wine, Champagne and espresso. This feast for the family continues with Christmas songs into the evening.


The third stage of Christmas is on January 6, the feast of the epiphany, the most important holiday for the children.
Following the story of the three wise men, who share their gifts with the Christ child, this is the day that all of the children receive their presents.
It also means that the Christmas feeling and lots of holiday expectations continue into the next year. And on January 6, the Christmas season comes to an end.
Christmas traditions have received somewhat of an overhaul.
Christmas isn’t necessarily just a Christian holiday anymore and you can sense the German and American influence.

Now on Christmas Eve, more and more people are placing their gifts under a plastic tree that they purchased at a bustling Christmas market. Real trees are available as well – but usually just Mediterranean spruce trees that are very expensive.
But January 6 remains the real Christmas holiday for people in Madrid, which means that gifts are given twice, and all that by mostly sunny weather.

Best regards,
Sabina