Today, we are bringing you a card game you can play without anyone else. Solitaire is conceived for those moments of boredom or eternal journeys. You only need one Spanish deck and yourself. If you want to learn how to play in Spanish, click here and keep on reading!

The only thing you must consider is that you need every single card of the deck to play. If only one of them is missing, you will go crazy looking for it and won’t be able to finish the round.

The Spanish deck of cards has four suits and contains 40 or 48 cards, depending on the game. They are used in Spain, some areas of Italy and France, Latin America, and some former imperial colonies. The four suits are copas (Cups), oros (Coins), bastos (Clubs), and espadas (Swords). The cards are numbered from 1 to 9. Then, the face cards 10, 11, and 12 are sota (Jack), caballo (Horse), and rey (King).

Once this is clear, let’s get started.

This game begins with a shuffled deck of cards. The objective is go from having all the cards completely disorganized to having all the cards perfectly sorted. 

To begin with, we will hold the deck face down in one hand.

After that, we need to take pairs of cards out of the deck and place them face up on the table. We can only play with the card on top. The lower one is locked.

Now we should decide whether we want to play sorting the cards up from Ace to King or the other way around. As you wish!

If you choose to play from Ace to King, you will need to draw pairs of cards until the Ace of any suit comes out. Once you see it, place it on the other side of the table.

Do the same with all the other Aces as they appear.

As soon as you have an Ace placed on the table, you can search for the number two of the same suit, even if the other Aces are not out yet. After the number 2, will be looking for the 3, 4, etc. The game ends when you complete all the suits, from Ace to King.

Remember that you can only work with the card on top of each pair. However, once you use this card, the lower one will be unlocked, and it can be used as well.

Let’s say we have the Ace of Coins, the Ace of Cups, the Ace of Clubs and the Ace, 2, and 3 of Swords on the table.

You draw two cards, put them on the table, and see that the top one is the 2 of Coins. As you need it, you place it on top of the Ace of Coins. Now, as you have already used the top layer, you see that behind the 2 of Coins there was a 4 of Swords. And you need it too! Because you have already unlocked it, you can use it straight away.

This way, you will slowly draw all cards and form four new piles, one for each suit. If you finish going through the deck, just put all the cards together (without shuffling) and place them upside down in your hand once more.

Now you can begin drawing cards in pairs again. Continue until all the ones you need come out… or until you rearrange the whole deck!

If you get stuck at any point, you will have to shuffle the deck and keep on trying. This could happen if, for example, there is a 5 of Coins on top of a 4 of Coins.

Now that you know how to play Solitaire with a Spanish deck, get your cards ready and let’s play!

On January 6^th Spain celebrates the Epiphany, a national holiday that is traditionally known as día de Reyes (Three Kings’ Day). Parades, presents and, above all, kids' enthusiasm are the protagonists of this day. Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthasar put an end to the holiday season every year, making the dreams of children all around the world come true.

We invite you to discover one of the most beloved traditions in Spain and many countries in Latin America. Continue reading this post in English or click here to switch to Spanish and learn more about it.

The celebration

The Three Wise Men celebrations actually start some weeks before January 6^th. From the beginning of the holiday season, children think about the presents they would like to receive and write their letters to the Magicians. In them, kids explain how they have behaved throughout the year and list a number of gifts they would gladly accept.

Once the letter is sent, we can only wait eagerly. On January 5^th, the Three Wise Men arrive from the East and take the streets to say hello. In the parade, several carriages with special decorations tour around the cities carrying Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthasar. Each king has his own group of pageboys, and all of them throw candies to the parade attendees.

In the early hours of January 6^th, while the children are asleep, the Three Wise Men visit each house. They leave their presents under the Christmas tree when no one is watching and then continue with their magical journey. If kids have behaved well, they will enjoy their new toys when they wake up. If, on the contrary, their conduct has not been that good, they will find charcoal instead.

Three Wise Men traditions

Besides writing a letter and attending the parade, there are other typical traditions that take place around these days. Let’s discover some of them.

One of the most exciting moments on January 5^th is preparing food and drinks for the Magi and their animals. Before going to sleep, kids leave some sweets and water in the living room so that Melchor, Gaspar, Balthasar, and their camels can have a break after their long journey.

Another thing to get ready before going to bed is placing the shoes under the Christmas tree. Each member of the family leaves a shoe there, so that the Wise Men can tell which present is for each of them.

The most typical food these days is the Kings' cake or roscón de reyes. It is a sweet dough which is decorated with candied fruit, like a royal crown. It can be stuffed with whipped cream and it has two hidden treasures inside: a figurine and a bean. Whoever finds the figurine will earn the crown that comes with the cake. However, if you find the bean in your portion, you have to pay for the cake.

The celebration’s history

This festivity finds its origin in the New Testament of the Bible, where it is written that the Magi from the East traveled all night and took three presents to baby Jesus. Guided by a star, they gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Through history, this tradition has been modified with new details about its protagonists. For example, at some point they were interpreted as representatives of each continent of the Old World: Europe, Asia, and Africa.

We wish you a happy Epiphany Day!

Today is December 31^st. We are just few hours away from closing this year and welcoming the new one with our arms wide open. Fireworks, gala dinners, champagne, and parties will be the protagonists of this evening all around the globe.

Spain and Latin American countries have some deep-rooted traditions for this special evening. In this post, we invite you to discover some of them. If you prefer to continue reading about New Year’s Eve in Spanish, click here. What are you up to tonight?

Spain

In Spain, New Year’s Eve is the most festive moment of all the holiday celebrations. Normally, families gather to have dinner and wait for the bells to ring. Here is when one of the most popular traditions takes place: the grapes time.

Every December 31^st at midnight, Spaniards stay tuned to television. From the Puerta del Sol, in Madrid, they broadcast the clock bells striking twelve times before the new year begins. With every bell sound, they eat one grape, until they have had the twelve of them. After this ritual is over, family members wish each other a Happy New Year and they celebrate together.

This practice finds its origin in a grape production surplus, around 1900. It usually involves playing around with cotillones as well. These are festive bags that contain ornamental pieces, costumes, toys, confetti, and party horns.

To attract good luck, besides the grapes ceremony, it is customary to wear red underwear and, sometimes, soak a ring in a champagne or cava glass to toast for the new year. From midnight, most houses and bars throw special parties. Before finishing the night out, it is very common to have the typical chocolate con churros (hot chocolate and churros).

Latin America

Piñatas are the protagonists of New Year’s Eve in Mexico. Traditionally, they were made of mud. Nowadays, they are usually made of colored paper and small lights that attract good luck for the coming year.

In addition to grapes and red underwear, there are a couple more singular traditions. For economic prosperity, Mexicans wear yellow underwear. If they want a travel-intensive year, they take their suitcases out. Something similar happens in Ecuador. Over there, many people walk around the neighborhood as fast as they can, carrying their luggage with them. This favors future trips.

One of the most distinctive traditions for New Year’s Eve in Colombia is the puppets burning. Before midnight, Colombians prepare figures that represent mostly popular characters. After that, they stuff them with fireworks and set them off right at 12 a.m. This way, puppets burn and the skies spark with the remains of last year’s bad things.

This puppets custom is very popular in Peru as well. In this country, they burn old pieces of fabric, journals, and wood. Very often, the figures they light up represent unpopular characters, such as politicians and other celebrities.

One of the most well-known New Year practices in Venezuela involves throwing a handful of lentils at the end of the countdown. This way, bad luck goes away. In Argentina, good weather makes for colorful summer parties.

We hope you have learned something new about the different New Year’s Eve traditions around the Spanish-speaking countries. Tonight, we encourage you to pick one of them and participate with your friends and family. Happy New Year!