New Year in Spain
Wednesday, 19th November 2008

The Spanish are renowned for their ability to party and New Year’s Eve, or Noche Vieja, is no exception.
The Spanish are renowned for their ability to party and New Year’s Eve, or Noche Vieja, is no exception. Yet, as with many fiestas in Spain, this celebration is rooted in tradition and a sense of family, with festivities invariably starting at home before any wild night out ensues.
Anyone not familiar with Spanish timings when it comes to going out should take heed now. Dec 31st follows every other day in the Spanish calendar in that you go out late, and stay out late (or early, depending on how you look at it). As opposed to some northern European countries, where the evening builds towards midnight and then climaxes, in Spain the party has literally only just started when the clock strikes twelve.
It is normal to stay at home with family until midnight, and to see in the new year by eating twelve grapes as the clock strikes - one grape for each chime, to bring luck for each month of the coming year. This ritual is said to have started some 100 years ago, when after a particularly large grape harvest it was decided to distribute the fruit for consumption at New Year. The only slight caveat to the tradition that was born was the fact that most Spanish grapes have seeds, so eating twelve in a row quickly can be a bit of a mouthful - literally!
In homes across the country it is traditional to put on the television and listen to the clock live from Puerta del Sol, in the heart of Madrid - their Big Ben or Times Square equivalent. Those living in Madrid may go to the square itself and see in the new year with the requisite number of grapes and a bottle of cava, before heading out; otherwise, it’s customary to stay at home until about 12.30 and then join the many lively street parties, bands or special events held in nightclubs and hotels. One note: if you come home by 6am it’s considered an ‘early’ night…festivities can go on all morning and even all day. After all, they do have a reputation to live up to.
Tags: spanish, new year, christmas, spain, christmas course, noche vieja
Posted by Sarah Gooding under Experience Cultures,
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