A Spanglish Christmas

Written by María Torres

María is a Spanish teacher and content creator based in the East Midlands who spends her free time baking and reading.

Living in another country is such a positive experience, one that somehow transforms you into a different version of yourself. I have been an expat in the UK for over nine years now and, after so long, I don’t know where I fit in anymore but there’s something I do know: I want my children to grow up feeling Spanish too and developing that sense of cultural identity that I’m so proud of.

As a mum, nothing can compare to the make-believe magic we create this time of year and I have adopted many UK traditions I hadn’t even heard of when I was little. It takes a lot of planning to put together an advent calendar with activities, create a December box, and to move around our two mischievous elves every night. However, we also celebrate Christmas the Spanish way.

Being miles apart from my family and friends is always hard but even more so on Christmas Eve. In Spain, that’s when family gets together to eat a big feast in the evening featuring lots of seafood and amazing starters. We call it Nochebuena which translates to ‘the good night’ and at home I always make a big fuss to make it special, getting us dressed in our fanciest clothes and spending many hours in the kitchen to set out a delicious spread.

One of my favourite things we do differently is the way we say farewell to the year. It might sound a bit odd, but all Spaniards sit in front of the television at midnight to eat 12 grapes, one with each strike of the clock. I’m not sure what the origin of this tradition is, but it’s meant to bring good luck for the New Year and I think it’s really unique and fun so even my English husband joins in with us. It’s actually not that easy because you need to be extremely fast, so foreigners find it a bit tricky!

I consider myself very lucky because we get to go to Spain every year after Christmas Day to join in all the festive fun and spend time with our loved ones. A tradition we can’t miss is to take the kids to see the nativity scene displayed at the Town Hall in Málaga. My mum and dad always used to take us when we were little so being able to do this with my own kids is something truly special to me. Our kids wear the traditional shepherd’s costume on this day which is what children wear in school or nursery for their Christmas nativity.

Finally, something that people always find a bit shocking is that children in Spain don’t get their presents on the 25th December. Instead, they wait until January since Christmas has a more religious meaning in Spain so it’s the Three Wise Men who bring presents in accordance with the Bible. Being Spanglish children, they actually get double the presents and they wake up on the 6th January to find not only presents under the tree but also their shoes filled with sweets from the Kings!

Feliz Navidad!

Follow Maria on Instagram for beautiful photography, days out, recipes, crafts and book recommendations: @ourspanglishfamily