Holy Week in Spain (Semana Santa) is always the week before Easter. Religion in Spain is especially important during this week. The main aspect of Holy Week in Spain is the penitential processions. These penitents wear pointed masks during the processions to keep their anonymity (both men and women). In Spain there are three major cities known for their special Holy Week in Spain, these are Seville, Zamora and Toledo. In 2012, Spanish Holy Week is from Sunday, April 1 to Sunday, April 8.

In Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, grand processions pass through cities depicting the sufferings of Christ and Mary. Almost every procession has a group of statues on a platform (paso) depicting a scene of Christ's suffering or a sorrowing Mary (the Virgen). The Virgen is always wearing a crown and has crystal tears for the sorrow of Christ's death. These images are dressed with embroidered gold costumes and are usually carved from wood. Most processions are held in silence and some fraternities even have a duty of silence. Only women are allowed to participate as penitents; everything else is carried and done by men during Holy Week in Spain.

Holy Week in Seville

The Holy Week of Seville is one of the most famous in Spain and is also celebrated very extensively. The whole country goes out to experience this holy week in Seville. There are more than 60 processions during Holy Week in Seville. Each procession is held by a Catholic brotherhood (Hermandad of Cofradía). The largest fraternity in Seville is the Cofradía of the Virgen de la Esperanza Macarena and has about ten thousand sisters and brothers. Each procession has its own route, but usually runs from a particular parish to Seville's cathedral and back again. Some processions last several hours and the pasos are carried by members of the holy brotherhood, also called costaleros. In front of the pasos go anonymous groups of sisters and brothers as penitents (Nazarenos) who all carry one burning candle. The front Nazarenos carry a large cross called the Cruz de Guia. Holy Week in Seville is marked by the beautiful pasos carried through the narrow streets of the old city, an emotional process for most Spaniards.

Holy week in Zamora

Like holy week in Seville, Zamora residents claim that semana santa in Zamora is the most famous. The first holy week in Zamora was already held in the ^13th century and was later named a "festivity of international tourist interest." In Zamora the Gregorian sound is heard which creates an emotional atmosphere during the nightly processions.

Holy week in Toledo

In Castile, Holy Week is also characterized as severe and somber compared to other regions. People take to the streets to witness the Passion of Christ and the suffering of his mother Mary. The statues are sometimes hundreds of years old and are true works of art with their beautiful embroidered clothing on the detailed pasos. In Toledo , a march is held at midnight on Good Friday (Viernes Santo).

Anyone can join a fraternity. Each fraternity is different and also has its own board at different levels. The purpose of Holy Week is the same everywhere, but everywhere it is celebrated slightly differently.

It is well worth attending Holy Week in Spain (Semana Santa) in one of these cities. During this week there is an atmosphere that cannot be described, only felt. The music, the attitude of the spectators and the many emotions will not go unnoticed by anyone.

Spain is known for its delicious and, above all, special hams. Most hams are produced in Spain, yet Italy exports more. The reason is that each Spaniard eats an average of 5 kilos of ham per year, which is twice as much as in Italy. Spain has many types of Spanish ham from Serrano to the famous Pata Negra. The most famous are discussed below.

Serrano ham originally comes from the mountains. Today, this Jamón Serrano is produced with a special Spanish breed of pig. Still the hams are dried in the original way with coarse sea salt for a time of 6 to even 36 months.

Surely the most famous Spanish ham is the Jamón ibericó Pata Negra (black leg). The production of this ham is located in Guijuelo in the municipality of Salamanca. The pig lives in the forest where it is generously fed with fresh grass, herbs, roots, olives but above all acorns. Because the pig can walk freely, the meat has a spicy and nutty flavor. In Spain they call this ham ´Jamón Ibérico´. There are 3 different types of this ham:

• The most famous and therefore most expensive ham is called ´jamón ibérico de bellota´, bellota means acorn in Spanish. In the last 4 months, the pig eats only acorns, which gives it its special nutty taste.
• Another type of ibérico is the ´jamón ibérico de recebo´. This ham is from pigs that in their last period ate only acorns and grain.
• The last type of ham is the jamón ibérico de cebo, or simply just jamón ibérico. The pigs have eaten only grain in their period, and are aged for 24 months.

Did you know....

• the pigs have been gaining 800 grams to a 1 kilo per day for the last 4 months.
• the ham loses 35% of its total weight through drying.
• the ´jamón ibérico de bellota´ is the most expensive ham in the world.
• front legs mature 6 to 8 months shorter than hind legs.

In Spain, people speak with many different types of Spanish accents. These Spanish accents have even become official regional languages over the years. In Galicia Galician, in the Basque Country Basque, in Catalonia Catalan, in the Valley of Aran Aranese and Castilian in the rest of the country. Castilian (Spanish) is the official national language in Spain; the other 4 are official regional languages. In areas where these languages (accents) are spoken, some take precedence. The many differences in the Spanish language often cause confusion abroad. In addition to the official regional languages, there are 2 unofficial languages, Asturian and Aragonese.

The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, Ñ, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. The letter Ñ is different from that in the Dutch language. The Ñ is widely used and is therefore also on the Spanish keyboard, to the right of the L.

Castilian:
Spanish or Castilian is a Romance language and is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. For 329 million people, Spanish is the mother tongue, while another 170 million speak Spanish as a second language. The historical origins of the language are in Spain, but most speakers today can be found in Latin America.

The four official regional languages of Spain are:

Galician:
In the region of Galicia, in the northwestern part of Spain above Portugal, the population speaks Galician. Galician is one of the four official languages in Spain and is spoken by a total of about 3 million people. Galician is also spoken in some parts of South America. The Spanish accent is more similar to Portuguese than to Spanish.

Basque:
Basque is spoken in the Basque Country, the Spanish-French border region on the west coast, and by emigrants from this area elsewhere in the world. Basque is the native language of about 800,000 people worldwide. Of these, 700,000 live in the Basque Country itself, where they make up a quarter of the population. The total number of people proficient in Basque is estimated at nearly 2 million.

Catalan:
Catalan is spoken in Catalonia, Andorra, southern French Roussillon, Valencia, eastern Aragon, the Balearic Islands and in a small part of Mucia. In total, about 10 million people speak Catalan. The Catalan accent has major differences from Castilian (official main language). The Catalan accent prevails here more than Castilian. Catalan sometimes resembles the French language.    

Aranese:
Aranese is spoken by only 4,000 people in the Valley of Aran in the region of Catalonia. The Aranese language and Spanish accent is also considered a dialect of French Occitan.

In Spain, about 25% of the total population speaks one of the four official regional languages, that is over 11 million people. Compared to the Netherlands, where the only official regional language is Frisian, where some 400,000 people speak this regional language, we can say that Spanish accents play a relatively important role.

Spanish wines are a well-known and especially unmissable part of Spanish cuisine. Spain is the largest wine country in the world! Although it is only the third largest producer of wine, this is due to the climate and the low yield of wine. The drought that prevails is Spain is a big problem, also because irrigation of vineyards is prohibited. Over the years, Spain has managed to distinguish itself with ´mundial´ wines as small-scale wines in addition to the famous sweet wines like Sherry and Malaga.

History

During the time of the Romans, the first vines were planted after a conquest 200 BC. After the fall the Roman Empire, things went downhill with the Spanish wine regions. In the Middle Ages, it was the monks who breathed new life into viticulture. During the century, this spread to all of Spain. The Spanish produced alcoholic Spanish red wines and produced white wines oxidatively (under large amount of oxygen) due to lack of knowledge. In the ^19th century, Spain gained international fame for their sweet wines such as Sherry and Malaga. Only at the end of this century did the first red Spanish wine called the Rioja wine emerge. Around 1900, the production of sparkling wines ("bubbly wines") took off in Catalonia called Cava, which would go on to bring worldwide success. With the restoration of democracy and accession to the European Union, Spain began to modernize in winemaking. Today, this is visible and small traditional Spanish farms are being bought up by large companies in order to increase their market share.

Climate

Because Spain has a large surface area there is also a lot of difference in its climate. In the mountains inland where muggy summers but also icy cold winters take place in contrast to the south where long hot summer temperatures can reach as high as 40˚C. As mentioned, drought is a common problem in Spain, especially since irrigation of vineyards is prohibited. This causes the low number of vines per hectare which results in lower yields than in the rest of Europe.

Spanish label

Spanish wines all have a controlled designation of origin, a denominación de origen (DO). There are now about 60 different DOs (place of viticulture). Rioja has the status of denominación de origen calificada (DOC) as does the Priorat. A special council (consejo regulador) oversees compliance with the DO´s rules. Each brand uses its own logo.The designation varies according to the maturity period into which type of category the wine falls: Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva, Jovén (young).

Spanish wine regions

Spain has many different Spanish wine regions, however, most are located in the north and east of the country. La Mancha is the largest wine region in the world and is located south of Madrid. Spanish wine bars can also be found all over the country. Of course, there are more Spanish wine regions but these are the best known and most important of Spain in a row.

Rioja

Rioja borders Navarre. With Spanish Rioja wine, they focus more on rosado (rosé) than reds because they have a reputation to uphold. This area also allows foreign grape varieties unlike other areas.

Ribera del Duero

Ribera del Duero is one of the fastest emerging wine regions in Spain, founder of the most legendary wine Vega Sicilia. Most wine in this area is red and made from tempranillo (type of grape).

Somontano

A fairly small new area at the foot of the Pyrenees where everything is done in a hyper-modern way. The area is also called the new world. Spanish white and red wines are made here but are also worthwhile.

Rias Baixas and Rueda

In Rias Baixas, the wines are made from the albariño, a very pricey grape that also raises the price of wine significantly. In Rueda, however, prices are somewhat lower with still good quality.

Central Spain and the Levant

Emphasizing Spain's largest wine region, La Mancha. Until recently, they produced here mostly Spanish white wines from the airén grapes. In the future, more normal table wines, both white and red, will be added. The southern part of La Mancha (Valdepeñas) has its own DO and specializes in Spanish red wines.

Catalonia

The region around Barcelona has been one of the most important wine producers since Roman times. Surely the most famous wine is Cava, a sparkling wine made in the manner of champagne. The town of San Sadurni de Anoia is surely the Cava center.

Jerez

Jerez, also called Sherry is a special wine. It all starts with a normal white Spanish wine made from palomino grapes. The wind from the sea cools it and the young wine gets an alcohol content between 15 and 18%. Sherry has to age for a long time and during the aging process the wine barrel is topped up with younger wines so the Sherry is a mix of different vintages. This creates the delicious taste.

The Spanish monarchy, like the Netherlands, has a royal family. Spain's current King Juan Carlos was born in exile because there was a civil war going on from 1936-1939. Spain experienced a period of dictatorship under General Francisco Franco after the civil war from 1939-1975. After Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos came to power, and to this day he is the king of Spain.

The King of Spain Juan Carlos lives with Queen Sofia in their palace, Palacio de la Zarzuela, in northern Madrid. Juan Carlos never wanted a dictatorship like Franco, which is why he restored democracy to Spain. In 1981, Juan Carlos gained much respect by preventing a military coup. Since then, all Spaniards have been proud of their king.

The Spanish royal family of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia consists of three children (Infanta Elena (1963), Infanta Cristina (1965) and Crown Prince Felipe (1968)) and eight grandchildren. Felipe is crown prince because a man has priority over a woman for the throne. However, this will change in the future since the crown prince, together with Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, already has two daughters (Infanta Leonor and Infanta Sofia).

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe had a few bad relationships before he was engaged to television journalist Letizia. However, this is the first time in Spain that a commoner girl has married a future Spanish king and she will become Queen of Spain. Princess Letizia is also known for her fashion-conscious clothing style and her always unusual shoes. Inside the Royal Family, Infanta Elena has been divorced for several years, but has two children (Felipe Juan and Victoria Federica) with her ex-husband. Infanta Cristina is married to Iñaki Urdangarin Liebaeert, together they have four children (Valentin, Pablo Nicolas, Miguel and Irene).

There are many National Holidays in Spain. For starters, nearly 96% of Spain's population is Roman Catholic; the rest are Protestant, Muslim or Jewish. Because so many Spaniards are Catholic, Catholic holidays are always celebrated Nationally. It is a celebration of everyone and for everyone. Below are a few examples of the best known Spanish National holidays, of course there are many more but it varies by region.

January 1 - New Year's Day (Año Nuevo)

New Year's Day in Spain, as in many other countries, is a day off. This is where the beginning of the New Year is celebrated and families gather to talk about the past year and their good intentions for the coming year. The night before on Dec. 31, Spaniards eat one grape at each stroke of the clock at midnight. According to tradition, this is said to bring good luck for the coming year.

January 6 - Epiphany (Reyes Magos)

On January 6, Spaniards commemorate the journey of the three Wise Men in search of the son of God. About a week before Christmas when everything is already in the Christmas spirit, children write letters to the three Wise Men expressing their wishes for January 6. Children receive gifts from the "Three Wise Men" on January 6. It is similar to Sinterklaas in the Netherlands.

April 8/9 - Easter (Pascua)

At Easter, Christians celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead. Easter lasts two days, a Sunday (Easter Sunday/1st Easter Day) and a Monday (Easter Monday/2nd Easter Day). The Friday before Easter is called Good Friday to commemorate the death of Jesus. The Sunday before Easter (April 1) is also called Easter Sunday (Domingo Ramos). On this day, the children go to church in their newest clothes where they are given palm branches. With these palm branches, the children walk through the city to commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. At the end of the day, the children give their palm branches to their grandparents in exchange for candy.

May 17 - Ascension Day (Ascensión)

The fortieth day after Jesus rose from the tomb, Christians celebrate Jesus being transferred to heaven to become the right hand of God. This is a day off in Spain, and many other countries.

May 27/28 - Pentecost (Pentecostés)

On Pentecost, Christians in Spain commemorate the descent of Jesus on his apostles and therefore the birth of the Catholic Church.

August 15 - Assumption of Mary (Asuncion de la Virgen)

On this day people celebrate the ascension of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary did not ascend by herself but was helped by God Himself. This is a national holiday in Spain.

October 12 - Spanish National Holiday (Día de la Hispanidad)

This celebrates the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492. The biggest celebration takes place in Madrid including bullfighting and parades. The whole country is free on this day.

November 1 - All Saints' Day (Todos los Santos)

With All Saints' Day, all the saints of the Roman Catholic Church are honored and commemorated together. In America, this is similar to Halloween.

December 6 - Constitution Day (Día de contitución Española)

Constitution Day, on December 6 in 1978 92% of the population voted for a new constitution. Since then, Spain has had a new constitution and a new Royal House.

December 8 - Mary's Immaculate Conception (Inmaculada Concepción)

On December 8, Mary received an immaculate soul. Mary now had a purifying soul because she gave birth to Jesus Christ. Because of this, she obtained a special status.

December 24/25 - Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) Christmas Day (Día de Navidad)

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. This is a family celebration and everyone has a sumptuous Christmas meal before going to church for midnight Mass. This special midnight mass is also called "La misma del Gallo." Gallo means rooster in Spanish, this is because a rooster announced the life of Jesus Christ.

Often foreigners have doubts or hesitations when they greet or meet someone in Spain. Should they give a kiss on the cheek? Is it appropriate to give hugs? It is very usual to have these kind of questions when you first get to know a country or culture.

Different countries, different traditions

Latin American greetings traditions

Both in Latin America and in Spain greetings are generally handshaking and on informal occasions kissing on the cheek, even among strangers. In Colombia the usual greeting among men is a handshake. Women, however, prefer a verbal greeting or kiss on the cheek. The greeting in Argentina in most cases is a single kiss on the cheek even among men, although it depends on the degree of familiarity. In Mexico, for example, the greeting between two men is limited to a handshake.

Spanish greetings traditions

In Spain, it is advisable to distinguish formal situations from informal ones. The greeting with a kiss is seen among people who have a close or family relationship: between parents and children, close friends etc. Men do not often greet each other with kisses unless they have a family relationship instead they rather shake hands. It's not often give hugs when introduced to someone, this is available for people who maintain a close relationship as friends or family. Between friends, in addition to hugging often accompanies with a pat on the back.

For verbal greeting, “¡Hola!” is used as a valid and neutral greeting almost any occasion yet on formal occasions, it will be more correct to use expressions like “¡Buenos días!”, “¡Buenas tardes!” and “¡Buenas noches!” which also can be used to say goodbye. On informal occasions, there are a variety of expressions like: ¿Qué pasa?, “¡Buenas!”. If you are introduced to someone new, you can say Encantado/a or Mucho gusto. And while saying goodbye generally these expressions are used“¡Hasta luego!” , “¡Nos vemos! or simply" Chao! ".

After a while you get used to both customs and the culture and there is no reason to hesitate to do the right gesture as Spanish people are very welcoming and warm. However, if you are still in doubt, you can wait for the first move and do what the other person does. Bear in mind that best things in life happen at the hellos and goodbyes!

Vocabulary set

Here is a small list of Spanish vocabulary used at greetings and farewells:

There are many Spanish Sayings, which can also be found in Dutch (part of a sentence, to clarify a situation), below you will find some well-known ones.

"Afición, ciega razón" 
"Amateur, blind reason."

"Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres." 
"Tell me who you hang out with and I'll tell you who you are."

"Si no hay pan, no hay pan" 
"No bread, no bread."

"Las apariencias engañan"
"Appearances can be deceiving."

"Al buen callar llaman Sancho"
"Good silence is called Sancho."

"Mi casa y mi hogar cien doblas val." 
"My house and my home a hundredfold val."

"Quien fía o promete, en deuda se mete." 
"Who trusts or promises, gets into debt."

"Quien mal intenta, pagará la cuenta" 
"Whoever tries wrong will pay the bill."

"Mientras haya vida, habrá esperanza" 
"As long as there is life, there is hope."

“Nunca es tarde si la dicha es buena”
“It's never too late if it's too late.”

“Dame pan y dime tonto.”
“Give me bread and call me a fool.”

“Solo se vive una vez.”
“You only live once.”

“El mundo es un pañuelo.”
“The world is a handkerchief.”

“Más vale pájaro en mano que ciento volando.”
“A bird in the hand is better than a hundred in the air..”

There are many international celebrities Spanish from writer to singer to architect the Formula One driver. Below-Pair A Whole known, of course, uh, of course, many more.

Film director
Pedro Almodóvar, born Sept. 24, 1951, is a very well-known film director in Spain. Pedro has won many Grammy awards with his Spanish-language films. Pedro often brought to light difficult themes in his films such as prostitution, homosexuality, drug abuse and abuses in the Catholic Church. 

Architect
Antoni Gaudí, two words, Sagrada Familia, who does not know it or has never heard of it. Gaudí is considered the founder of organic architecture. Gaudí died from a train accident near his Sagrada Familia where he was every day and followed everything closely about developments in construction. Today, work on the Sagrada Familia is still going on, and it is predicted to be finally finished in 2026.

Artist
Pablo Picasso, October 25, 1881 - April 8, 1973, was a Spanish draughtsman, painter, graphic artist , sculptor and ceramicist. He was one of the most famous Spanish painters. Picasso's best-known work was the nearly 4-meter-long painting called Guernica.

Formula 1
Fernando Alonso, born July 29, 1981, is a two-time Formula One world champion. He became the youngest ever world champion on Sept. 25, 2005! Alonso caused amazement by the high speed at which he entered his races and usually won.

Actor and actress
A famous Spanish actor is definitely Antonio Banderas with his sultry eyes. A famous Spanish actress is without a doubt Penélope Cruz.

Footballers
We can almost say that almost the entire Spanish national soccer team is well-known. Surely the most famous are Iker Casillas, Raúl, Carles Puyol, Fernando Torres, David Villa and Gerard Piqué. Famous and infamous among the Dutch.

Singers
Julio Iglesias, first soccer player and un one of Spain's best-selling Spanish singers. And father of the famous Enrique Iglesias who makes many hearts beat faster. In the opera world Plácido Domingo is a household name, he has sung with Pavoratti, among others, and he is still active today.

Writer
Surely the most famous and important Spanish writer is Miguel de Cervantes. Author of the novel "Don Quijote de la Mancha"( The ingenious nobleman Don Quixote of La Mancha). The book is one of the first novels written in a modern European language. The story tells the travel adventures of an old nobleman who thinks he is a knight (Don Quixote- idealist and a foolish hero) Cervantes was also the author of about 20 plays. 

Tennis player
Rafael Nadal, born June 3, 1986, is Spain's best Spanish tennis player. Currently, Rafael is ranked No. 2 in the world according to the ATP (Novak Djokovic is No. 1). His nickname is the King of Gravel, he owes this to his many victories on this surface.

There is some controversy about whether or not this story is true and a quick Internet search reveals all kinds of arguments, but, we think it is interesting and worth a mention.

According to a group of archaeologists, 1,100 year old Mayan ruins have been discovered at Track Rock Gap, near Georgia´s tallest mountain. Investigators believe that 154 stone masonry walls are visible, used for creating agricultural terraces, as well as other stone structures. The Mayans are known for having implemented advanced irrigation systems, adapting to difficult terrains. Some believe that the site could, in fact, be the lost city of Yupaha, which Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto failed to find on an expedition in 1540.

Some theorize that the Mayans made the move north around 800 AD, when the once flourishing population began to collapse due to volcanic eruptions, wars and extreme drought. In fact, strong similarities in architectural forms of towns along southern Mexico and southeastern USA have documented and some agronomists believe that corn, beans and tobacco was introduced to the Native Americans from those who migrated north from Mexico.

Despite all these theories, no ruins have ever been found in the US that have been attributed to people who originated in what today is Mexico. Although, many point out that Native American tribes such as the Creeks, Alabamas, Natchez, Chitmachas and Choctaws may be descendants of southern indigenous groups and particularly point out the use of Mesoamerican words in the Creek Indian language, for example.

The mystery remains: Where did the Mayans go? Archaeologists know that the Mayan civilization suffered a rapid collapse and for 170 years they have debated what exactly happened to the vast number of people that once thrived in the area. Mass immigration has been hard to prove and many archeologists have concluded that the Mayans simply died in masse.

However, in the Georgian Mountains there has always been “evidence”. Ruins found around the state were usually attributed to the Cherokee Indians, who denied having created the circular structures and wall terraces on the mountaintops and mountainsides. In the mid-20^th Century, modernization in Georgia led to little conservation of these “Indian” mounds and stone structures, most being swept away to give way to highways and other construction projects. It wasn’t until the late 20^th century that the state took at active role in trying to conserve this part of its history, the most famous site being the ruins of Fort Mountain State Park.

In 1999, an archaeologist named Mark Williams from the University of Georgia led a group to study the southeastern side of Brasstown Bald. The ruins survived reveal a massive 5 sided pyramidal mound, possibly dating back to 900 AD, partially sculpted out of an existing hill with clay. Of all the indigenous tribes of the Americas, only the Itza Mayas and the Creek Indian ancestors have been known to build 5-sided earth pyramids as their principal mounds, and dozens of similar structures can be found in Central America.

Other reasons to suspect a Mayan presence in the area can be found on early maps of the area. The name “Itsate” can be found. “Itsate” is the name that the Itza Mayans used to call themselves.

An archaeological survey by Loubser’s firm surveyed the area and is said to have done soil dating which estimated that some of the shards were made around 760 AD – 850 AD, around the time that the Mayan population plummeted. The study offered no firm conclusions, but did state that examples of similar sites only exist in the Maya Highlands of South America.

Is Track Rock Gap the “missing link” that archaeologists and architects had been seeking since 1841? Did the Mayas make their way North and establish new cities? There are many debates… If the site does prove specific links between the Southeastern Native Americas and the ancient Mayans, then, according to Thornton, this could be the “most important archeological discovery in recent times.”