RICH:
Although, at first reasoning it doesn't make sense to leave the summer of New Zealand with longer days for the chill of a Barcelona winter, but with our first moments back into this historic beautiful city, a warmth bubbled in our hearts and brought back a flood of memories from our honeymoon 32 years ago. Or perhaps that bubbling is the heartburn from an indulgence of Paella, Tapas, Churros & Chocolate with liters of Rioja to wash it down.
In any case Barcelona has a special way of celebrating the Christmas holidays. Unique may not be strong enough of a word, but I do feel the emphasis on the children and the traditions of making the 12 days of Christmas not just a song, but the foundation of Christmas as a way of celebrating Jesus birth makes it special. Although Christmas Day is honored and worshiped, it is on Epiphany (Jan 6) and the arrival of the wise men that the gifts, cakes and parades are celebrated in full. There are some traditions we still can't fully understand...
The following photo story is our holiday in Barcelona Spain - we tried to be true to the traditional culture, so you will see Catalan traditions, some Spanish traditions, and yes, even a few of our own traditions we take with us wherever we are! We were happily joined by the Lindroos clan - daughter Renata and nephews Eric and Trevor for the holidays!
Christmas in Barcelona and the rest of Spain begins December 8th - The Feast of the Immaculate Conception and ends with the coming of the 3 Kings on January 6th. This makes for the longest celebration on the planet I think.
The decoration in most Spanish homes is centered around the nativity scene.
However, in Catalan, there is one additional figure you won't find in most scenes -
it is The Caganer! This typical Catalan figure is sold all over the Christmas markets in Barcelona - he is also called "The Pooper," "The Shitter," "The Defecating Man," or "The Man doing his duty." He represents a farmer and Catalans see poop as a sign of good luck as it fertilizes the earth and ensures a good harvest for the coming year. The Caganer is usually found squatting behind a haystack or in a hidden corner of the nativity scene for the children to find.
Then there is the "Cago Tio or Tio de Nadal", another Catalan tradition used to celebrate the Christmas season. It is a Pooping Log that excretes treats on Christmas Eve. You can find logs in the Christmas market to buy, but normally the family at the beginning of the Christmas season creates one on December 8th. His behind is wrapped in a blanket and he is fed "Turron" (A Spanish nougat candy pictured above) every evening. It is thought that the more the "Caga Tio" is fed, the more presents and Christmas goodies will be excreted from his behind on Christmas Eve.
Pictured above you see children with sticks beating the "poop" out of the log and singing a traditional song while doing so. (Translation would be "If you don't poo, we will hit you with a stick!") What kid doesn't like to giggle about poop - a tradition that has gone on for centuries...
There were festive Christmas markets around the city (sorry, none compared to Vienna- I think I missed all the food booths and Gluh wine - see last years post) and the weather for December was crisp and beautiful. Wonderful walking weather!
Nit de Nadal or Christmas Eve in Barcelona is a day of family and feasting! A typical Christmas Eve dinner includes "Escudella i carn d'olla" - a pasta of galets in a meat and vegetable soup or stew. It is also time to beat the "pooh" out of the beloved Tio de Nadal and receive small gifts and candy. The exchange of big gifts does not happen until the 6th of January, the 12th day of Christmas or Epiphany.
We celebrated Christmas Eve by going out to dinner at Los Caracoles in the Gotic area of Barcelona. The restaurant has been around since 1835 - and it was a memory for us in 1982, (though blurry for me) as Rich and I ate Paella here. Now we get to share the memory and create a new one with Renata, Eric, and Trevor. Lots of Tapas, Seafood Paella, Fish, Caracoles (Snails), and a Vegetarian Paella for the daughter, of course we cannot forget the Sangria! It was a feast!
Christmas Day or Nadal is another day of family and big feasting and later being out with friends and relatives. Some families recognize Santa Claus, though the typical Spanish and Catalan do not. We chose to recognize Santa Claus today along with some Catalan traditions...
During Christmas everyone drinks lots of CAVA (Spanish Champagne)! Of course we are going to follow that tradition and you can see nephew Trevor pouring freely!
We continued our own family tradition of Christmas scones by Renata - we will just rename the scones in honor of being in Barcelona and call it by the Catalan name "El Pa de Nadal" or Christmas Bread!
Did we really stay in our PJ's all day??
Our Christmas lunch was very close to a traditional Catalan lunch that consisted of the stuffed turkey or "carn d'olla" and our "Escudella" was created vegetarian style with galets and cheese!
This post is getting a little long, so we will fast forward to New Year's Eve Day for an important Lindroos tradition during the holidays - a Top Chef Tournament!
The secret ingredient for the contest is Papaya (an exotic fruit not found in Spain??!!) picked by our judges Victoria (who just joined us and from California and is currently teaching English in Spain) and Eric (who is also the photographer for the event).
What kind of secret ingredient is this????
Victoria started us off with a papaya/cava drink that may put her in the competition next year - tasty and potent!!
Trevor in honor of Picasso made a panko crusted papaya shrimp croquette,
Renata was inspired by Dali and created a mashed papaya/sweetpotato trianagle with fried egg, I created a papaya gratin topped with fried squid,
and Rich made a papaya salsa served with brochetta and chicken wings.
And the winning dish is.....
Back to the traditions of Spain and the Catalan.....
A very important tradition in Barcelona and all over Spain happens at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve. The church bells will chime 12 times, and with each chime you quickly eat a grape. If you can manage to eat a grape for every chime you will have a lucky and prosperous year!
New red underwear to wear New Years Eve is another Spanish tradition for luck.
I'm sure Eric will need all the luck he can get New Years Eve!
Spaniards are known as hard core partiers, so Renata, Victoria, Eric, and Trevor followed the Spanish tradition of going out to a club until it closes sometime New Year's morning. You are supposed to have hot chocolate and churros before you head home - I'm not sure they remembered to follow that part of the tradition...
Rich and I spent New Year's Eve with probably 100,000 or more locals at the Official Barcelona New Years Eve Celebration at the Plaza Espanya.
You can see The National Museum of Art of Catalonia in the background.
12 days after Christmas is the 6th of January. This is the big holiday that children look forward to. The Three Kings make their appearance...
....1,000's head to the "Moll de Fusta" the port in Barcelona to meet the 3 Kings as they sail into the port. You can hear the children shouting their names in Catalan -" Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar!!" The legend is that the Kings came to Bethlehem on January 5th after following a star and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus. Children write letters to the 3 Kings who will bring them presents on January 6th...
...The Kings' Day Parade or the "Cavalcada de Reis" is the biggest parade in Barcelona and draws 500,000 people along a 5 km parade route. This is the childrens' last chance to get their letters and pacifiers to the 3 Kings. Along the route there are letter collectors with long nets going out into the crowds. When little ones are ready to give up their pacifier, they have a pacifier collector too! The parade ends with floats shooting out tons of candy named for each of the 3 Kings. You can see children on ladders and their parents' shoulders holding out their bags to catch the candy being pelted at everyone. We caught our share!
January 6th morning is like a 2nd Christmas, where children open their presents and the 3 Kings cake called "Tortell de Reis" is eaten. Renata had the piece with the lucky charm in it - I got the fava bean! (It means she will be lucky all year and I have to pay for it!)
5 pounds later, the longest Christmas is over !
Next post will be all about the food....
Next post will be all about the food....
