Christmas in Catalunya

INDEX• 1- The Crib

• 2- The first magical day (24 december)

• 3- The day of christmas(25 december)

• 4- The night of 31 december

• 5- Home dels nassos

• 6- 1st of January

• 7-The three wise men

• There are two theories about the crib, one of them is:

The invention of the crib belongs to Francisco de Asís, who apparently represented the first birth of Jesus between years 1200 and 1226. The first cribs gathered live people and animals. Soon after they were created with mud figures so that each Christian could make his own crib at home.

THE CRIB

A little piece of manger

NIGHT OF 24th• That night, once the tio

is fed, the children carried wet sticks, hit the “tió” while singing a song. After that they lift the blanket, and under it they find presents with each person’s name. Then all the family have diner and a party.

• At midnight Christians usually go to midnight mass (missa del gall).

GO TO INDEXThe christmas tree

THE FIRST MAGICAL DAY• The night of 24th of

December is a magical night. The family get together to celebrate it.There is a trunk which we call “tió” on which there is a face and other details and all the children think that it comes from the mountains and it is alive. The families give it food and supposedly it eats the food.

The tió of our school

CHRISTMAS DAY

On Chistmas day, the family usually have lunch together at home. The whole family makes lunch.

At Cristhmas lunch we eat:

Before lunch time we eat snaks with dry meat, that is, biscuits with “embotits”, “paté”,etc. We usually eat “escudella” o “galets” with “ mandonguilles” (meatballs) and also chicken or pork, depending on the family.

For dessert there are biscuits.The typical dessert for Christmas in Catalonia is the “neules”. The typical drinks for Christmas lunch are wine and “catalan cava”.

SANT ESTEVEIt takes places on the 26th of December.It is the continuation of the Celebration of Christmas. The day is basically based around food; It is said that people take advantage of the food left from the day before, like roasted meat. The guests are no longer only the relatives, but it also come friends, companions… the more people the better. The tablecloth is set for sweets and drinks and afternoon and the dark comes soon. People with their full bellies, after so many days of celebration, feel exhausted and this day they go to sleep earlier..

NEW YEAR’S EVE

New Year’s Eve is the last day of the year, that is, the 31st of December. It’s very common that to celebrate the entrance of the coming year people eat 12 grapes (a grain for each year change stir). From some years on it has become a great night party for young and old people. This is also the day for “ L’home dels nassos” to go out in the streets.

HOME DELS NASSOSHome dels nassos is a character in Catalan myths and legends. "Home dels nassos" can be translated as “ The Man of the noses". The legend says that, on New Year's Eve, this man walks the streets and has as many noses in his face as remaining days of the year.

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12 O’CLOCK OF 31st OF DECEMBER

The most important moment of this day takes place at 12 o'clock at night. This is the moment for the 12 wishes. When the minute hand reaches 12 o’clock people starts greeting and desiring the best for the new year. They toast with champany, with a great spectacle of fireworks and all kinds of dances.

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1st OF JANUARY• On the 1st of January

people get together for lunch to celebrate the beginning of the new year.

• In this meal I usually do a summary of what has happened during the year and the plans for the new year.

• I sometimes cook the main course, which is basically garnished chicken or garnished lamb.

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THE THREE WISE MEN

• The day of the three Wise men or Epiphany is celebrated on 6th of January to remember the three wise men arriving in the stable at Bethlehem with presents for Jesus baby (gold, incense and myrrh).

• The night of the Three Wise Men, the 5th of January, we have a cavalcade where the Three Wise Men have a march with floats around the town and they go throwing sweets for all the people they go to visit. Children send letters to the Three Wise Men asking for the toys that they want. Then they go home to set the table with food and drinks for the Three Wise Men. After that they go to sleep because if they don't do it the Three Wise Men will bring them coal, and it tastes really bad.

THE SECOND MAGICAL DAY

• This day people give presents to each other. They are specially for the children who think that the three wise men are the ones who bring them their presents.

• The day of the Three Wise Men we have another family lunch after opening the presents in the morning. We eat the "tortell de reis" where there are two objects: one wise man and a bean. If you find the wise man you put on a crown but if you find the bean you have to pay the "tortell de reis".

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From Catalonia