by A. M. Kane

Created on: April 05, 2009   Last Updated: April 06, 2009

Christmas might be a globally celebrated event, however there are various and unique ways in which it is celebrated depending on which part of the world one hails from.

Take Spain for example, where many of the traditions and rituals surrounding the Christmas festive periods, are very particular to that country and is not to be seen replicated in other geographic locations.

Although there is variance region to region within the country itself, one can definitely cite a pattern of common traditions, which Spaniards generally adhere to during Christmas time.

As Spain is a Catholic country, there is more of an emphasis on the religious side of the festival, whereas one might argue in the USA and UK, it is more of a commercialised event, where most people, whether of any religious inclination or not, use the holiday as a pretext to have a good party, drink, exchange gifts, and generally make merry, regardless of whether they believe in the religious roots or connotations of the day itself.

Home and living room decorations centre more around a nativity scene and biblical details as opposed to the dressed up and highly decorated Christmas tree surrounded by a plethora of wrapped gifts at its base, as we are used to in the UK and USA.

Christmas day itself, is preceded with two holidays in Spain, the first being the "Da de la Constitucin" or "Constitution Day" and the second being the 8th of December which celebrates Jesus immaculate conception in the form of "La Inmaculada Concepcin". In this regard there is a stronger run up to Christmas, again, with extra emphasis on the religious elements.

The actual Christmas celebrations are more Christmas Eve centric in Spain where the main meal and celebration is conducted on the 24th instead of the 25th. These celebrations typically consist of a Christmas feast comprising of prawns, caviar, salmon, which can be followed by meat and poultry. Such a meal would generally take place with all the family congregated at a family table around 9pm-10pm with the family members dressed in their absolute finest attire to commemorate the annual occasion. This is a radical departure from Christmas as known by American and English nationals where the meal is on the 25th itself and often very much focused around turkey or some sort of game as the main dish.

After the main dishes are complete a special Spanish dessert called "turrn" is passed around, which is made from honey and almonds.

During the daytime it is traditional for women to don their

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