Christmas in Gran Canaria 2

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Christmas in Gran Canaria

One of the reasons for coming out to Gran Canaria each year, apart from getting away from the weather at home, is to also get away from the over-commercialisation and over-indulgence of Christmas at home. We still do lots of meals together as a family but without all the extra trimmings that would normally have to be added at home. In fact on Christmas Day we make a point of all going down to the beach with just a bag of butties.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day isn’t such a big event out here as it is at home. I don´t know if what I see happen here is unique to The Canaries or if the same happens in the rest of Spain. And, of course, because we are in a tourist area, the bars, shops and restaurants are more likely to stay open during the holidays.

Christmas Eve seems to be the more important day. Businesses will all close early as people go home to be with their families and then Christmas Eve will be the time for the big family meal. On Christmas Day there will be some opening of presents but it´s not as much of a big occasion as it is at home. The main day for exchanging presents is January 6th although I suspect the kids in Spain now expect two sets of presents. Many of the shops and bars in our area opened up on Christmas Day.

New Year

New Year seems to be celebrated more than Christmas here. Shops will close early on New Year’s Eve as people get ready to go out and party and many businesses will remain closed on the next day. Amongst the traditions here we are given "lucky grapes" every year - twelve grapes, one to be eaten on each chime of midnight. Apparently it is also considered lucky to see in the New Year in red underwear - I found out about this too late to have my lucky red pants for this year but I’ll be sure to pack them next year!

In the area where we stay there are always a lot of firework displays at midnight to see in the New Year. All the hotels and a lot of the shopping centres put on some kind of display. Some years we´ll find our way to the top of a hill with a couple of bottles of Cava to watch the fireworks and see in the New Year from there.

Three Kings Day

Three Kings Day {Epiphany, Twelfth Night, January 6th} is the main day of the Christmas holiday here. This is the day when the Three Kings arrived with their gifts for Jesus and is celebrated in Spain as the day when Christmas presents are exchanged.

The kids in Spain are brought their presents by the Three Kings riding on their camels rather than a fat bloke on a reindeer. The day before Three Kings Day businesses close early again, kids write their letters to The Three Kings explaining why they deserve lots of presents and at night they leave out some snacks for the Kings and grass for their camels. Three Kings Day is the day when presents are opened and all the shops, bars and restaurants near us stayed closed for the day {unlike Christmas and New Year}.

On the day before Three Kings Day we went to the local sports stadium in San Fernando to see the arrival of the Three Kings. This is definitely an occasion for small children, as our taxi driver was keen to point out to us! We were treated to some pre-match entertainment while the kids got increasingly excited, looking up to the sky and waiting for the Three Kings.

Several Mexican Waves later and a plane flew over the stadium and four parachutists landed on the pitch - I guess these may have been "angels". Then the helicopter carrying The Kings lands and the Kings jump out to the cheers of the kids. The children start chanting for their favourite King. We find ourselves cheering for Balthasar as he seems to be making more effort to spend time with the children and accept their letters rather than the other two who are just milking their fifteen minutes of fame.

From the sports stadium the Kings get on their camels and, joined by other floats, the procession moves through the local streets. The kids get more chances to give their letters to the Kings and all the floats are loaded up with sweets for the children in the crowd. We leave after all the floats have gone past but I understand that the procession carried on for several hours more.

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Photos

The Crib Is Part Of The Tradition In The Canaries
Jesus and the Three Kings are added on the correct days

The Procession Of The Kings
They hand out sweets to the children

The Crowd Gets Excited
The Three Kings arrive by helicoptor

Comments

[Nick Buchanan]

Cheering for the King!
Glad to see you were cheering for Balthasar - tradition suggestions that he came from Ethiopia! (Well, Ethiopian tradition suggests he came from Ethiopia, at any rate!). Happy new year ... from a very snowy and cold Hampshire! Nick

[WhereIsSteve]

Balthasar
Well spotted, Nick! When I sort my photos out it will Balthasar and his crew who are the Ethiopians. Caspar, however, seemed like he was trying to look like a Viking. Not sure about the authenticity of that one ?!?