Some people take their time off for Christmas to go home or travel around Europe. After my parents caught their plane back home to the US, I caught a train back to Cambrils. At first I was super upset. It was even harder when I walked into my host family’s house and they were having a huge family get together. It was also Spain’s version of April Fool’s Day, when I didn’t feel like smiling. Although I was upset to leave my parents, I ended up experiencing some unique traditions only seen in Spain.
A Catalan New Year’s
I’ve never really loved New Year’s. In the US, it’s always friends getting together, drinking, and then you watch a ball drop. I just don’t really get it. I must say, a Catalan New Year is so much more fun and more meaningful.
The first host family I ever lived with in Spain has a son the same age as me. He invited me to celebrate with him and his friends. We went over to a friend’s house. The boys started to cook dinner. While we were waiting for food, it was an interesting cultural mix of Spanish, Catalan, and English. We didn’t even begin eating until around 11 PM. It was pretty good, but they got me to try foie gras and didn’t tell me what it was until after. I didn’t eat any more of that!
Grapes for Prosperity
In Spain (not just Catalonia), grapes are a big deal on New Year’s. At the stroke of midnight, everyone tunes into TVE to watch the bell in the Plaza del Sol in Madrid to ring in the New Year. With each gong on the bell, you must eat a grape. It sounds a lot easier than it is. The tradition started a long time ago when they created a gimmick to sell extra harvested grapes. It stuck and is now an important part of their celebration. It will bring you good luck for the year.
I had the job of sorting the grapes into bowls. I was very sternly told to only put twelve grapes in each bowl. No jokes about it. About three minutes before midnight, it dawned on me that a lot of grapes in Spain have seeds in them, which I abhor. I was hurriedly trying to pick out the seeds before the bell tolled. As it turned midnight, someone said, “Here comes the first bell!” I went to put a grape in my mouth and everyone screamed “NOOOOOOO!” Those grapes better give me the prosperity I was promised.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG0ZLavbMd8
After the grapes were eaten, everyone started saying “Happy New Year”. There were “bro hugs” and besos. I didn’t mind all the kisses from the attractive Catalan boys. The cava (Catalan champagne) was popped, but the night was not over. We hung out for a little and then at 3 AM (not exaggerating), we headed out to Salou to go to the disco. My night ended at 7 AM. And smart me booked a flight to Germany on New Year’s Day. I think I slept four hours?
Día de Reyes
The most important day of the holiday season is Día de Reyes. This is the day the the Magi bring gifts to the kids of Spain. Historically, the Magi, or Kings (often referred to as reyes magos in Spain), are the ones who bring the presents, although in more recent years Santa has added Spain to his list of stops on Christmas Eve.
The Kings usually come on January 5. I missed them coming in, but the arrived in Cambrils by boat. They had a big parade where they threw candy and rode around being merry. Then in the morning, the Kings rode around in pick-up trucks throwing more candy and delivering the presents to the children of Cambrils.
Cambrils has a really different tradition. In most places, the Kings come at night, like Santa, while the kids are sleeping. However in Cambrils, the Kings personally deliver the gifts to the houses. I think that can be pretty cool for the kids, although I was very tired after my trip to Germany and would have preferred to be asleep.
The Presents Arrive
The kids in the family I live with are too old for the Kings to give them presents. However, they have family with small kids. Throughout the morning, the kids kept going up and down from the street to the apartment in hopes the Kings would be there soon. One of the Kings finally came around noon, and with the help of his “little helpers”, he gave the gifts to the children on the street. The family I was with though took a more creative approach. They threw a cord over the balcony of their apartment and the King King attached the box of gifts to the rope. The box was then pulled up over the balcony, which was not as easy as they had planned, but finally! The presents arrived!
The next hour was crazy. It took less than five minutes for the kids to rip through their presents. Then, naturally, they wanted to open everything. When we got back to our house, the Kings had left a box for our family, too. I even got some things! To celebrate, we ate a very big lunch and then everyone rested.
There’s also a tradition where they eat the King’s Cake, or Rascón, that has treasures inside of it. Whoever has the King figurine in their piece is the King and gets a gold crown. Whoever gets the fava bean has to “pay” the king. I was neither the king, nor the payer!
