Spanish holidays

Spain has an enormous number of holidays. Most of these Spanish holidays are celebrated according to tradition every year. So is New Year's Eve in Spain. Spain has some pretty distinct traditions, customs and practices that are celebrated during New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve is celebrated big and elaborately in Spain, and in Spanish fashion, New Year's Eve celebrations also start relatively late.

New Year's Eve in Spanish is called "Noche Vieja," the old night. On New Year's Eve, most Spaniards stay home with the whole family until noon. In Spain, New Year's Eve begins with a very elaborate dinner with the whole family. After dinner, most Spaniards move to one of the city squares. The most famous square in Spain to celebrate New Year's Eve is Puerto del Sol in Madrid. As such, this is the centerpiece of Spanish New Year's Eve. Around noon, all eyes are on the clock on the Puerta del Sol. This clock is also shown on television so everyone can join in with "Las Uvas de La Suerte" tradition.

Spanish traditions

'Las Uvas de La Suerte' is a Spanish tradition that originated in 1909 when grape growers in Alicante could not get rid of their grapes and shared them out. At noon, grapes are hawked. One grape per chime, for 12 chimes. If you manage to eat twelve grapes before the 12 chimes are over, you will have good luck and prosperity in the coming year. Each grape equals one month of the year.

After the grapes are duly processed, everyone wishes each other a Happy New Year and, as in the Netherlands, champagne is toasted. Increasingly popular is cava, which is a Spanish champagne. Different grapes are used for cava than for champagne. And because it is made domestically, cava is often cheaper than champagne.

Besides "Las Uvas de La Suerte," for women, wearing red underwear such as a bra or socks would also ensure happiness in love in the coming year. However, this underwear must be gifted.

Unlike in the Netherlands, fireworks are not used in Spain as in the Netherlands specifically for New Year's Eve. In Spain, fireworks can be bought all year round, and fireworks are therefore more something for summer celebrations than just for New Year's Eve. After wishing each other a "Feliz Año Nuevo," a happy New Year, the younger generation goes into town. As in the Netherlands, they party until the early hours. And what could be tastier than typical Spanish churros with hot chocolate.

University New Year in Salamanca

Every year on the penultimate Thursday of the academic term, thousands upon thousands of students from all corners of Spain descend on the small Castilian city of Salamanca for the annual Nochevieja Universitaria – translated as University New Year. This impressive celebration was inaugurated in 1999, when students wanted to be able to celebrate New Year with their university friends, before going home for the Christmas holidays. Since then it’s become a highlight in the university calendar, not just in Salamanca, but across the country. People come in busloads from as far as Seville just to be part of this magical night, before heading home early next morning (literally) after a whole night of partying.

A couple of days ago I was lucky to be able to experience Nochevieja first hand, going with some friends from work to see for ourselves what all the fuss was about. We all decided to meet at 10 pm, thinking that the Plaza Mayor – where the ‘countdown’ to the New Year takes place – would already be jammed with people. We were a little surprised to find that at this point it was only half full, if that. Regardless, the atmosphere was extremely jovial, with a raised platform and DJ underneath the famous reloj (clock), playing all our favorite tunes – with Avicii’s Wake Me Up receiving a screaming reception.

Nevertheless, the idea of standing there for the next two hours was not so appealing, so we went to a nearby bar and had a few drinks and some dancing. We stayed there for about an hour, before heading back to the Plaza Mayor for the strike at midnight. On our way there, we bumped into another friend from work who had unfortunately lost her phone, which reminded us all to keep an eye on our belongings, especially since by this point the Plaza Mayor was jam packed. We pushed our way into the center of the square, nestled between a group of Spanish students, and some sweet Americans. There was still about half an hour left before the “big moment”, but it flew by with more club classics from the rather excitable DJ.

Spanish New Year's Traditions

It is a Spanish New Year’s tradition to eat twelve grapes at midnight, one for each time the clock chimes ding dong. On our way into the Plaza Mayor we had each been handed a little box of twelve grapes (for free!) for us to reenact the tradition at “New Year” – or, in our case, when Thursday became Friday… With about five minutes to go, the DJ stopped doing his thing, and was replaced by a spectacle of lights and drumming music. The Plaza Mayor was changing different colors – red and green – and the façade with the clock had a visual show projected onto it. The main theme of this production was a series of dates, but none of us knew what the dates stood for, and my research has so far proved fruitless. Maybe it was key dates in Salamanca’s history, or Spain’s, or of the night’s sponsor, Brugal? Anyway, the point is it was really cool.

The final segment of this 3D mapping show was a 10-second countdown to midnight, at the completion of which we all hurriedly ate our grapes. The task was significantly harder than we’d expected; eventually I found myself with about four grapes in my mouth at once because the clock was dinging faster than I was eating! And then that was it… once midnight had passed it was the end of Plaza Mayor’s turn to host the thirty thousand students, who then went out into the large number of bars and clubs that hug the center of the city – but only after a ten-minute struggle to leave the Plaza Mayor, a difficult task with so many people going in so many opposite directions. We found ourselves at a bar very near to the Plaza Mayor which was playing typical Spanish club songs. I didn’t recognize any of them, but happily danced away for the next few hours.

When we left the club – slightly deafened from having spent all our time next to the speakers – we thought about going to another, but the Englishness in us had work the next morning firmly at the back of our mind, and the thought of partying until 6 am Spanish-style didn’t appeal. But, we were glad we’d experienced one of the highlights of the academic year in Spain, and it will definitely be a great memory for years to come.

Spanish winter

Spain is located on the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, further the country has several mountain ranges and is thirteen times larger than the Netherlands. Not surprisingly, the Spanish climate is very diverse by region. While the south of Spain is very pleasant in the winter, the northwest of Spain is "chilly" by Spanish standards.

Inland Spain has harsh winters versus dry warm summers. In winter there are pleasant temperatures and blue skies, a pleasant climate for getting out and about.

Due to the great diversity in the landscape, Spain has many different climates. In the northwest of Spain and on the Atlantic Ocean there is a maritime climate, which means that in winter it is around 6 degrees Celsius. With a maritime climate, there is a relatively high amount of precipitation throughout the year. The amount of precipitation in northwest Spain can be compared to that in the Netherlands.

In contrast, southern Spain, Andalusia has very mild winters and very warm summers with little precipitation. The average temperature in winter is around 15 degrees and in summer it is not exceptional if the temperature rises to 40 degrees.

Inland Spain has great differences in temperatures. For example, during the Spanish winter it can easily freeze in the higher elevations and in the summer the temperature can reach 30 degrees with little precipitation. In winter, one can ski in the Pyrenees and in southern Spain in the Sierra Nevada.

The Spanish Costas

The Spanish Costa's have mild but wet winters (the further south the drier) and pleasant summers. Summer temperatures are lower than in inland Spain which makes it more pleasant. Spain's Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol are pleasant winter destinations. This is because of the small amount of precipitation that falls and the pleasant temperatures of around 18 degrees. These temperatures make it pleasant to play golf, or to go out and explore the surroundings. For example, from the Southern Costas there are several cities to visit inland, the Alhambra in Granada and the Royal Palace in Seville are also well worth a visit. The Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol, like the Canary Islands, which is also a winter destination, have about 6 hours of sunshine per day during the winter. The Canary Islands have a constant annual temperature that averages between 22 degrees in winter and 27 degrees in summer.

The Balearic Islands also have mild winters and pleasant summers, just like the Spanish Costas. However, more precipitation falls on the Balearic Islands than on the southern Costa's. Typical of this archipelago is the amount of precipitation that falls all at once. The amount of precipitation makes this archipelago less interesting as a destination in winter.

Unknown to many is this lively seaside neighborhood in the city of Málaga. Pedregalejo encompasses a very unique part of Spain where authentic southern Spanish fishing life is cleverly combined with modern entrepreneurship. As a result, more and more students are finding the city.

It is an ordinary Sunday morning sometime in the fall. The beach is empty except for a few young "guiris," recognizable by their long bodies and blond looks, and also by the fact that they are the only ones still venturing onto the beach in bikini outside the high season. Spaniards don't. Looking at the car-free boulevard, it is clear what they do. They stroll lustily past the numerous bars, cafes, restaurants and wooden boats on the beach, where the famous 'espetos de sardinas' are grilled on wood fires. Nice detail is that the same morning these sardines were happily swimming around in the sea you watch from the terrace.

If you look closely at the beach again, you will see that the "guiris" lying there almost without exception have books in front of them. They chose Málaga as a destination to learn Spanish and are pounding out words in the sun for the next test. Pedregalejo is home to the majority of language schools in Málaga. The advantage of staying in this neighborhood is obvious. The beach is on your doorstep, which is very convenient with the sunny climate. The inhabitants are very friendly and helpful, even those who have not yet mastered their language feel welcome. There are plenty of restaurants, the school is nearby and with bus 11, which runs every ten minutes, you are in the old center of Malaga within 20 minutes.

Since the current mayor took over governance there, the heart of Malaga has turned into one big terrace and the choice of bars, restaurants, hip terraces and clubs is endless. For a dose of culture, there are several museums, including the Picasso Museum and the recently opened Thyssen Bornemisza Museum. The port has been completely restyled and is now one of the biggest draws for tourists with fancy stores and - again - entertainment venues. Pedregalejo is riding on this growing attraction of the city, helping to make Málaga one of the most popular Spanish cities to master the language.

10 (at least) Christmas Traditions in the Spanish Speaking World

A number of festive celebrations, some religious and some secular, take place throughout the month of December around the Spanish speaking world, where the holiday season often extends well beyond the 24^th and the 25^th.

Countries located in the southern hemisphere that have strong Christmas traditions greet the season in the middle of their summer time, where culinary and decorative holiday traditions are adapted to warmer temperatures, as they are in tropical neighboring countries near or on the equator.

In many Latin American countries it’s common for the Christmas period to extend from the middle of December until well into the new year and beyond King’s Day (January 6^th). On December 7th in Guatemala, they burn an effigy of the Devil, and on that same day in Colombia it’s el día de las velitas (Day of the Little Candles) when candles are placed everywhere to honor the Virgin Mary. In Honduras, Mexico and Venezuela, starting from December 16^th, the nine-day Posadas celebration begins. In many of these places, the Christmas season doesn’t draw to a close until the day of Candelaria on February 2^nd.    

Madrid metro network

The easiest way of public transportation in Madrid is the metro. The underground in Madrid is the second largest metro network in Europe. Not only tourists like to use the metro in Madrid, the Madrilenians themselves are also big fans of the metro.

The first metro lines in Madrid were built at the beginning of the 20th century. On October 17, 1919, the Madrid metro was opened by King Alfonso XIII. During the Spanish Civil War, Madrid's metro stations served as shelters for the Madrilenians.

The Madrid metro has a narrow network profile and a wide network profile. Metro lines 1 to 5 feature subways that are 2.30 meters wide. Metro lines 6 to 12 have subways that are 2.80 meters wide. Another difference between a narrow and wide network profile is the depth at which the subway lines are located. The narrow metro network profiles are located up to 20 meters below the surface and the wide network profiles are located deeper.

Line 9 was the first metro line in Madrid, passing through the suburbs of Madrid and ending in the suburbs of Rivas-Vaciamadrid and Arganda del Rey. At the beginning of this century, the Madrid airport was connected to the city center thanks to the metro. The entire Madrid metro network is underground with the exception of a small section of lines 9 and 10.

Europe's longest metro line opened on April 11, 2003. Metro Sur, metro line 11, has 41 kilometers of tunnels and the metro line has no fewer than 20 stations. This metro line is the most important metro line in southern Madrid because it connects 5 villages. Line 11 connects with line 10 making the center of the city accessible by metro as well.

A clear difference can be seen between the older and newer metro stations in Madrid. The older metro stations are more compact and and narrower than the new metro stations. Also, the old metro stations often only have a platform next to the tracks while the new stations have multiple platforms. Thus, the busy interchanges have central platforms which makes it easier for travelers to transfer quickly.

Madrid's subway lines are open Sunday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.. On Fridays and Saturdays, the metro is open an hour longer, until 2:30 a.m.. A single trip on the metro costs €2 but there are also 10-ride tickets available that cost €12. These 10-ride passes with a Madrid metro map will make your stay in Madrid even more convenient and fun.

Around the 17th century, an influential period for prosperity, trade science and culture took place in Spain. The Spanish Golden Age is also known as El Siglo de Oro.

Spanish culture 

In the 16th century, Spain conquered the New World and this brought the country great prestige and wealth. This marked the beginning of the Spanish Golden Age, El Siglo de Oro. At that time, Seville was the richest city in the country, partly because Seville was the port for all trade to the Americas. During the Golden Age, Spain was ruled by the Habsburgs and until 1645 by King Philip II, Philip III and Philip IV, among others. Under the rule of the Habsburgs, all peoples had to learn the Spanish language. However, when Philip III came to power, the Habsburg Empire began to show its cracks and the Netherlands and England, among others, showed their dislike. Nevertheless, Spain was still one of the most powerful countries in the world during this period.

Spanish culture, on the other hand, underwent a great heyday in the 16th and 17th centuries. Spaniards produced so many great works of art and literature that this period is known as the Golden Age. This was also the time of Baroque literature. It was a dark period where pessimism prevailed and it was believed that only death could deliver you from this period. Velázquez, among others, painted masterpieces during the Spanish Golden Age.

Drama began to gain popularity during the Golden Age. Well-known playwrights of this era include Félix Lope de Vega and Pedro Calderón de la Barca. Félix wrote 2000 plays that were mainly about honor and love. After his death, Pedro became one of the most famous playwrights. His works are known for his religious drama about Catholic beliefs.
The death of Pedro Calderón de la Barca in 1681 is often seen as the end of the Spanish Golden Age. The Spanish Golden Age was also a successful period for the famous Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes. Among other things, he wrote the modern novel "Don Quixote," one of the most famous novels in Spanish history. In addition to novels, Cervantes also wrote several plays. Miguel Cervantes played a major role in Spanish history and this can still be seen today on the Spanish 10, 20 and 50 cent euro coins.

One of the most famous Spanish paintings

Las Meninas was created by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez. One of the most famous Spanish painters of the golden age, he created many portraits of the Spanish royal family. The Dutch name for Las Meninas is De Hofdames.

Velazquez

Born in Seville, Diego Velázquez began painting at a very young age. At 12, Velázquez was an apprentice painter with Francisco Pacheco. When he moved to Madrid in 1622, he attracted the attention of Spain's King Philip IV.

In 1629, Velázquez left for Italy for a year and a half to study his classical predecessors. All at the expense of Spanish King Philip IV. Upon his return, Velázquez became the court painter of the Spanish royal house. In 1649, he went to Italy again, but this time to procure art for King Philip IV.

Las Meninas is one of the first modern Spanish paintings. A modern painting makes you think about everything on the canvas.

At the center of the painting is the Spanish princess, she was the apple of the family's eye, and at the time the only living child of King Philip IV. It is unusual for a princess to be the center of a painting. At the time the painting was made, princesses were often married to cousins or uncles in the family, to ensure that there was a male heir to the throne.

Everything on the life-size canvas makes the viewer think. For example, the painter has depicted himself, at work, on the canvas. It looks like he is painting Las Meninas. This is not the only thing that makes the viewer think. For example, all the persons in the painting, are looking outside the painting. There is also a mirror painted on the canvas. In this mirror the faces of the royal couple can be seen. The viewer is like the royal couple, we look out over the artist's studio, and the viewer is portrayed.

The main question all this raises is, am I looking at the painting or is the painting looking at me? Find out the answer for yourself during a visit at the Prado Museum in Madrid.

Language Learning

A report published this month by the British Council, entitled Languages for the Future, has confirmed what most linguists and anyone who takes an interest in languages were thinking: Spanish is the best language for the UK population to learn. With an overall ‘score’ of 76, it easily surpasses Arabic (54), which takes second place, and French, Mandarin Chinese and German making up the top five.

The report employed a variety of measures to determine the ten languages considered most important to the United Kingdom’s economic, cultural and diplomatic future. Among these factors included the destinations of British exports, the UK government’s commercial and diplomatic priorities, the value of emerging markets, as well as the most popular holiday destinations for Britons, and the ability of other countries to speak English. The document highlights the missed opportunities that stem from a lack of language-speaking abilities among Brits.

The key message of the research was the “alarming” absence of language-skills among the British public. According to a survey carried out on 4,000 adults by the polling organization YouGov, 75% were unable to even hold a conversation in a language other than English. Only 4% could do this in Spanish, a worrying figure given the growing importance of Spanish in an ever-globalized world of over 400 million native Spanish speakers (compared to 335 million native English speakers).

Looking at the indicators more closely, it’s unsurprising that Spanish holds top spot. Its value in UK exports and business activities is broad and growing: Spain is Great Britain’s eight-largest trading partner – rising to 5th position when eliminating English-speaking nations and grouping Francophone Belgium and France together – and 34% of British companies state that Spanish is important to their growth. By examining the list of emerging markets, Spanish-speaking nations occupy 4 of the 30 most important developing economies, the same number as English-speaking countries. In fact, by 2030, the Mexican economy is expected to have outgrown that of the UK.

From a cultural perspective as well, Spain is the most popular non-English speaking country for British tourists, and no Hispanic country features highly on the list of English proficiency. What’s more, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office is pouring resources into boosting diplomatic presence in South America, at a time when Anglo-Hispanic relations features prominently in the news with respect to two of Britain’s overseas territories.

Study Spanish

Alongside the British Council’s own investigations, there exist other advantages to learning Spanish as a second language. It happens to be an official language of most of the world’s international organizations, for example the United Nations and the International Labor Organization, as well as pan-Latin American bodies. Aside from economic and political factors, learning Spanish enhances your understanding of the cultural and social aspects of Spain and Latin America that are important to their identity. Furthermore, the health benefit of learning a second language cannot be underestimated: a recent medical report suggests that the ability to speak a language other than your mother-tongue delays the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by about four years.

So these are just some of the reasons why you should head over to Spain or Latin America and speak Spanish!

When the Republicans won the elections in 1931 with a small majority, the Spanish monarchy came to an end. This caused some conflicts in Spain and strong antagonisms arose between the left (republicans) and the right (nationalists).

After the elections in 1931, major antagonisms arose between the left and the right. In the end, the small left majority provided a very leftist constitution to the annoyance of the nationalists. In 1932, the nationalists tried to carry out a coup, but failed. New elections took place in November 1933 and the right-wing parties won. This went well until October 1934. Then a very right-wing party joined the government and this caused uprisings from the left. The leftist leader called for a revolution and during this uprising Catalonia declared independence.

The civil war had begun

In February 1936, new elections took place between the republicans and the nationalists. With a small majority, the republicans won again. In April that year, there were attacks claimed by right-wing groups. The civil war had begun. When the murder of José Calvo Sotelo took place in July 1936, it prompted the army of Spanish Morocco, led by Francisco Franco, to advance into the Spanish peninsula. Soon Cadiz, Zaragoza, Seville and Burgos joined the nationalists led by Franco.

The nationalists received voluntary support from Germany and Italy. The republicans received support from Russia. The nationalists had an army with a large military background. Consequently, this ensured that by 1936 50% of the Spanish peninsula was already in the hands of the nationalists. Especially the Basque Country and Catalonia were difficult to overcome. In 1937 Bilbao was conquered and in 1938 the Nationalists were most successful, gaining control of Catalonia. Only the major cities of Barcelona, Valencia and Madrid were not yet in Nationalist hands. When at the end of 1938 the Russians withdrew, it was only a matter of time before the republicans were overcome. Barcelona was conquered in January 1939 and Valencia and Madrid followed in April that year.

Guernica

During the Civil War, a major bombardment took place in Guernica. This bombing took place under the leadership of Francisco Franco and killed 1,500 people and wounded 800. This bombing shook all of Western Europe. Pablo Picasso created a giant painting of the city of Guernica. Picasso did not depict what the city looked like during the war. Picasso wanted to convey the feeling people had during this bombing.