n° 1 spanish holiday rentals site

We are now officially in Christmas season. If you visit Spain at this time of the year you will see

lights, lots of people carrying shopping bags, and countless Santa Claus welcoming people to the nearest El Corte Inglés (Spanish version of Marks and Spencer or Macy’s). Pretty normal, isn’t it?

Sooo, if it’s not sunny and hot enough to be at the beach, why have you decided to come to Spain? Ah! you got a pretty good deal! cool! Since you won’t occupy most of the time at the beach, I recommend you to go a visit the Belen ( Nativity Scene)  nearest you and discover how Spanish celebrate Christmas. They are pretty easy to find, they are usually displayed at downtown in the most popular square.

If you are in Barcelona you can also visit the Fira de Santa Llúcia which symbolises the start of the Christmas festivities. The fair in front of the Barcelona cathedral, with more than 300 stalls, is one of the most traditional Christmas events in the city. Here, the air is impregnated with the characteristic smell of Christmas trees, the little details for the nativity scenes can be bought - as well as the figures representing the shepherds, the Three Wise Men, and other characters from the Bible who were present at the birth of Christ. There are stalls selling Christmas logs and Christmas trees, moss, bark, sawdust, and Christmas decorations. Visitors to the fair can watch the craftspeople at work, while listening to traditional Christmas carols and songs. The fair, opens every day from 10 in the morning to 10 at night, to buy traditional Christmas.

And if you still have some time, just take the subway and go to the The Sagrada Família Christmas fair which has more than 200 stalls selling trees, moss, nativity scenes, Christmas wreaths, decorations, crafts, and all manner of things related to Christmas. There is also the traditional Catalan Christmas figure, the tió, sweets and typical cakes panderetes. There is also a children’s programme, with workshops, and painting and writing competitions.

If your city is Madrid you can go to the Christmas Market in Plaza Mayor, enjoy the light and sound display in the Jardines del Descrubrimento (Gardens of Discovery) near Plaza de Colon or visit the oudoor ice rink in the Retiro park.

Are you going to be in another city or town? E-mail me and I will give you some Christmas tips.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 11th, 2006 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Daytime, Barcelona, Madrid, Daytime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.