In Spain they leave their shoes out for the Three kings to come and fill with gifts and toys. The next day they eat a round cake with candied fruits on top. The cake has a surprise in it. Whomever finds the surprise in the cake will be the king and the queen for the rest of the day. On the 31 the Spainards stay up until midnight and wait for the clock to strike twelve. As soon as the clock strikes twelve the Spainish eat twelve grapes, one for each toll of the clock. The grapes are eaten for twelve months of happiness and wealth to come in the next year.
We don't do Christmas Day as such, more nowadays because of the whole Santa Claus hype, but we've always celebrated Three Kings. On the night before Epiphany (6th of January) families meet and exchange gifts and eat a large meal. Children usually leave out a shoe (instead of a stocking) and the go to bed early. It's pretty similar to UK and USA really. Though we don't go in for turkey much.
In general, Christmas in Spain is based more on religion than any other country. Churches all over will be filled, day and night. Holiday lights don't go up until the 1st of December. After that date, there are many places the sell and even people who sell on the streets to be seen. {Note: On December 22 the Christmas Lottery winners are announced, which can be a celebration in itself.} For most Spaniards, Christmas is made up of three parts.Starting with Christmas Eve (Noche Buena),which is a family gathering with all generations there. While Noche Buena may start at home it usually ends elsewhere with friends. The second part is New Years Eve (Noche Vieja), again a family gathering. The final part is on the 6th of January or Three Kings Day (Los Reyes), believed to be the day that the Magi end the following of a star (these three take the place of Father Christmas, but Santa Claus is being seen more and more). This is the morning where gifts are opened.
Spanish celebrate. Charisma's to spent time with there family and to hang out all day having any food that is given then the kids thank there parents for the most wonderful gift weich happends to be the gift of life.
Spanish celebrate christmas by buying christmas trees from shops or gipsies on the street. Their decorations don't come up until December and every street has lights. There is a lottery where nearly everyone buys tickets for an enormous amount of money. Christmas is a more religious time of year than other countries celebrate it.
