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A Christmas Chronology

Spain still tends to observe Christmas as a religious festival and the
national devotion to the Virgin Mary is never so fervent as in this
season.

There will be early signs of Christmas in some of the areas
(particularly the Costa del Sol) where there has been a large influx of north
Europeans but, generally, Christmas does not start until the first week of

December. (Contrast that with the UK where Christmas goods are in many
shops as early as late September!)

For myself, the first sign that Christmas is in the offing is the
appearance of turron in the shops. These are especially Spanish types of
nougat and chocolate and, for people with a sweet tooth, they are
devastatingly more-ish'. I do notice, also, that there is far more glace fruit
available, though this delicacy is available all the year round from many
pastelerias.

Shortly after this, usually in the first week of December, the shops
will start to fill their shelves with the usual Christmas goodies and
most town and village councils, major shopping centres and larger shops
will start to build their very intricate and detailed Belens. Many homes
also will have Belens built and cared for by the children. These are
fabulous nativity scenes and depict life, as it was supposed to be, in
Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus. Although it is not unusual
to see a cow in the stable where jesus was born, in Spain the cow is
given much more prominence because of the belief that the cow kept the
baby Jesus warm with its breath. Many Belens feature moving figures and
flowing water. (Belen = Bethlehem)

One feature of many Belens which often creates amusement is the
inclusion of a figure answering a call of nature (usually necessitating a
squatting position with pants round ankles) it is not unusual for these
figures to be recognisable as local or national political figures and no
offence is intended or taken, indeed, it is often taken as an honour to
be so depicted.

There are countless local traditions but I suppose the most well known
is Hogueras' on the shortest day of the year when bonfires are lit and
people will jump the fire in order to obtain protection against illness
in the coming year. This celebration is particularly popular in Granada
and Jaen. It, like many celebrations throughout the year, has its
origins in the pre-Christian era and has simply been continued because the
tradition was too well established for it to die out.

Naturally the stocks and availability of seasonal foods is huge and
one of the great

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