For the Spanish, Christmas Eve is more important than Christmas Day. On December 24 there is a great meal with the family, along with a visit to the church for Christmas mass. While there are additional unique customs, a festive dinner and Spanish sweets for dessert are the most iconic part of Christmas in Spain.
If you are invited to join a local family on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, please note that, unlike in the United States, where the traditional time for exchanging gifts is December 24 or 25, in Spain This occurs 13 days after January 6 for Dia de las Reyes. On that day, there are more banquets and the specialty of the day is the roscón de los reyes , a ring cake made to look like a king’s crown with candied fruits.
Christmas Eve Food
If you spend Christmas in Spain, it will quickly become apparent that Christmas Eve is one of the biggest and most celebrated meals of the year. In the past , truffled turkey, truffle stuffed turkey was a favorite dish of the country’s elite. Now the only rule with Christmas Eve food is that people eat well and it is usually more expensive. Lobster is very common, and a roast of some kind is essential, usually lamb or a suckling pig. Additionally, most families will also have soup, usually fish stew, and a host of other seafood, cheeses, hams, and pâtés.
Dinner starts late, around 10pm and will continue for a couple of hours.
Other popular foods that adorn the Christmas tables found in recipes during the holidays include mandarin oranges or tangerines, nuts or walnuts and dates , or dates.
Christmas sweets
Where Spanish food at Christmas stands out is with its sweets, which include a variety of nougat, marzipan, and crumbly cakes. The most popular sweet of the season is nougat . It is a nougat generally made with walnuts. There are two types of Jijona nougat, nougat soft nougat also called soft, and nougat Alicante nougat also called hard, hard nougat.
A popular sweet from other parts of the world around the holiday time that Spain has adopted is marzipan, called mazapan in Spanish. Yema is a type of marzipan that is made with eggs and is a specialty of the city of Ávila.
There are two popular small cakes or cookies in Spain that are favorites during the season, polvorones and mantecados. They are two different types of Spanish butter cookies made from flour, sugar, milk, and generally almonds. Polvorones are usually covered with powdered sugar. The word dust means “dust.” Manteca means “lard,” which is generally a key ingredient. Another popular cookie is a wine donut, a cracker flavored with anise and wine.
Eat in a restaurant
It’s almost impossible to get a restaurant meal on Christmas Eve as most of the local venues are closed, although some of the major hotels are likely open. Christmas Day is a little easier as stores open, but be sure to plan ahead. If you arrive in Spain a few days before Christmas, make reserving a restaurant for Christmas Day the first thing you do.
