Christmas in Spain

{Conversation Partner Reflection 6}

The first thing Aitana told me when we sat down at our last meeting before finals week and the end of the semester was that she had completed the Intensive English Program and was now officially a TCU student.  I am beyond excited for her to start this new chapter.  She finished her last two finals Thursday and passed with flying colors.  Next semester she will start TCU classes.  On Friday she leaves to go home to Málaga, Spain to spend Christmas and New Year’s with her family.   Life gets better overall after finals.

I asked her about traditions that her family celebrated during the holiday season.  Traditions are an important element to any culture, and I was interested in another glimpse of what her life is like in Spain.  Her Christmas Day is similar to mine, spent celebrating and spending time with family.  She also has a traditional Spanish Christmas celebration in early January that commemorates the three wise men called the Cabalgata Dia de Reyes.  It is a parade that takes place in multiple Spanish cities and towns and even some in Mexico.  The three Magi ride on floats through the streets as children dressed up as page boys throw out candy to young waiting observers.

The parade occurs on January 5, the day before the feast of the Epiphany.  On the evening of January 5, children go to bed early after cleaning their shoes and the next morning they find gifts from the Magi.  The children who had bad behavior over the preceding year receive coal.  Sounds familiar.  The day of the Epiphany, January 6, ends the Twelve Days of Christmas celebrating when the Three Kings, or Magi, came to leave presents for the baby Jesus.

The parade is a fun celebration that focuses on children because of the vast amount of candy they gather throughout the procession of floats.  Aitana told me about the parade two years ago when the festivities turned into tragedy.  A six-year-old boy was killed in her hometown procession when he dived under a parade float to retrieve a piece of candy.  Since then, security measures were reevaluated in hopes of strengthening them to avoid tragic accident.  This horrific turn of events two years ago has altered the fun that Aitana once associated with the celebration.  Such a senseless loss of an innocent child would alter the course of any celebration.

Not all the traditions of Christmas the day of the Epiphany in Spain have been touched by tragedy.  Roscon de reyes is a king’s cake pastry eaten in Spanish and Latin American countries to celebrate the Epiphany.  Traditionally, several surprises are hidden inside the cake including a small figure of baby Jesus or a figure of one of the Magi and a dry bean.  Whoever finds the one of the porcelain figures will have good luck and be the king of the party, but finding the bean means you have to pay for the cake.

I told her about Mardi Gras and how they also have their version of king cake in a pre-Lenten celebration.  It is interesting how different countries with diverse cultures that emphasize distinct holidays have similar means of celebration.  But I guess, who wouldn’t want a king cake?

I liked hearing about traditions that were different from my own.  Another celebration Aitana told me about is Semana Santa, which commemorates the Passion of Jesus.  It is a procession of floats that depict images of the Passion.  Visitors from all over congregate in Málaga to watch the floats pass during Holy Week.  She showed me pictures of how large the crowds can get to watch the procession.  She told me that her family used to join in the festivities, but now the crowd keeps them at home.

She asked me how my family celebrated New Year’s Eve.  I told her it was nothing special, just me at home with my family watching the ball drop in Times Square on television.  When midnight strikes here an hour later, my sister throws confetti all over the living room.  It is the same confetti that she throws each year since she recycles it each year and keeps it in a plastic bag in her closet the rest of the year.  My parents drink champagne and give my two sisters and me a glass to celebrate with as well.  The next day we have a big dinner usually with roast beef.

Aitana’s celebration is similar.  She celebrates with her family then parties with friends.  She began telling me about her favorite drinks because the legal drinking age in Spain is 18.  I’m excited for Aitana to return home and begin the holidays with her family, which I know she is eager to do.

The biggest surprise from this conversation with Aitana was how alike our celebrations are.  Across the world, children get presents from a figure with legendary and historical origins, they eat the same foods, and they spend time with family.  While cultural differences and traditions may be something that separates people at the surface, we are all rooted in similarities.  I enjoyed meeting and talking to Aitana this semester.  I gained insight for Spanish culture that I knew so little about before, and I hope that I was able to share some American culture with her.  I hope to hear all about her Christmas break when we return to TCU in January.