I thought I’d carry on the theme of Christmas...especially now it’s only 21 days away!!
I’ve been looking at how Christmas is celebrated in Catalunya and the differences compared to how we celebrate. The Catalan Christmas lasts a lot longert han our Christmas.
December 25th and 31st are not the only important days; the festivities are spread out over a number of days that all have considerable importance. Family parties start on the 24th, la nit de Nadal, especially in religious households where the celebration of the midnight missa delgall (mass of the rooster) is followed by cavaand ressopó, a sweet night-time snack of hot chocolate and torró (Spanish nougat).
The 25th is celebrated with a huge lunchtime feast involving the whole family. It is normally a three course meal Starting with canopés, king prawns and little tapas dishes before
escudella is served.
I’ve been looking at how Christmas is celebrated in Catalunya and the differences compared to how we celebrate. The Catalan Christmas lasts a lot longert han our Christmas.
December 25th and 31st are not the only important days; the festivities are spread out over a number of days that all have considerable importance. Family parties start on the 24th, la nit de Nadal, especially in religious households where the celebration of the midnight missa delgall (mass of the rooster) is followed by cavaand ressopó, a sweet night-time snack of hot chocolate and torró (Spanish nougat).
The 25th is celebrated with a huge lunchtime feast involving the whole family. It is normally a three course meal Starting with canopés, king prawns and little tapas dishes before
escudella is served. This three-part dish consists of a broth with huge pasta shells, a plate of meat (carn d’olla) including botifarra sausage and a pilota (giant meatball), and a variety of vegetables including potatoes, cabbage and chickpeas. Then there is roasted poultry such ascapon, turkey or chicken. Dessert is normally torrón (sweet slabs of nougat that come in lots of different flavours) and neules (tube-shaped biscuits).
The same type of things happen on the 26th, Sant Esteban (Saint Steven’s day), but on a smaller scale.
The 28th, dia dels Sants Innocents (Innocent Saints’ day), is not a formal occasion but is a day when people play jokes on one other, similar to our April fool’s Day.
Then, on New Year’s Eve, la nitde Cap d’Any, the main event comes with the 12 strokes of the clock at midnight that welcome in the New Year; everyone tries to eat a grape in time with every bell chime for good luck. January1st, Cap d’Any (head of the year), involves another family dinner before the final celebration on the 6th, Reis (Kings’ Day or Epiphany), this is when children receive presents.
Children are traditionally left presents by the Three Wise Men, the Reis Mags d’Orient, and they write their Christmas lists to the Kings, not to Father Christmas.
In catalunya Christmas cards are not really a traditional part of Christmas and their January sales don’t start on Boxing Day...they have to wait until January 7th after The Kings’ Day.
Steph
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