Bon Nadal!
Now that the hustle and bustle of summer and the high season on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca have subsided, calm is slowly returning. The island shows its quiet side and thus offers a special charm.
With average spring-like temperatures between 15 and 18 ºC and longer days than in Germany at this time of year, the Christmas spirit is slowly taking hold in Spain, despite the lack of snow. But even on Mallorca, temperatures can become wintry, dropping as low as 5ºC. Therefore, you should always have a jacket in your luggage in case of emergency.
From mid-November, after the annual Festival of Lights, the streets of the capital Palma de Mallorca shine in an unmistakable glow, with magnificent Christmas lights and festively decorated shops. Christmas markets and traditional nativity scenes can be found in many public squares. The Christmas season officially begins on 8 December with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and ends on 7 January, after the feast day of the Holy Three Kings.
Mallorcan Traditions during Christmas Time
Unlike in Germany, Advent calendars and Advent Sundays do not play a role. Rather, the Christmas season is an interplay of Spanish tradition and international customs. Christmas wreaths, Christmas trees or biscuits are rarely found here (they are baked at Easter). Instead, there are some very bizarre customs of their own, which we would like to introduce you to in this article.
Christmas markets in Palma and the surrounding area
As in Germany, Christmas markets are held in various places on the island at Christmas time, most of them in the capital Palma. From typical local handicrafts to Christmas decorations and Mallorcan specialities, you will find everything your heart desires, including hot chestnuts and occasionally even a mulled wine (vino caliente).
You can find more detailed information about the Christmas markets on Mallorca here:
The Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree, as we know it from home, has only recently appeared on the island. In the meantime, it is often part of the decorations at Christmas markets and in towns and cities. You can find them there until January. As fir trees do not grow on the island, Christmas trees on Mallorca are usually made of plastic, often black or white, and have colourful flashing lights.
The Nativity Scenes – Belens
The most important Christmas tradition on Mallorca dates back to the 18th century and is the setting up of the nativity scenes, called belens. Belen is the Spanish word for Bethlehem, and these intricately crafted figures are set up in every household as the central symbol of Christmas. Every day they are then moved according to the Christmas story. These lovingly recreated scenes can also be found in churches, on the streets and in shop windows. The figures are not limited to the classic Christmas story. Figures from everyday Mallorcan life can also be found here, such as farmers or bakers.
A whimsical figure is the caganer, meaning “little shit”. This is a figure from the Catalan cultural sphere, which does its needy business near the Holy Family and is supposed to bring good luck to the person who finds it in the manger. Originally it was used to represent a peasant figure, but nowadays it can also be found with the face of famous football players or even the Pope.
If you like, you can also visit a nativity scene exhibition. A particularly beautiful one can be found in the March Foundation Museum. It is an elaborate nativity scene from Italy, the “Belén Napolitano”, with about 2,000 handmade pieces from the 18th century.
Tio Caga Turro – A Tree Trunk for Christmas
Just as bizarre as the Cagan nativity scene is a Christmas sweet on Mallorca called Tio Caga Turro. Tío is the Spanish word for uncle or mate, Turró stands for a sweet typical of Christmas. Caga stands for the verb at the end of the digestive process.
The sweet is a thick tree trunk painted with a face. In the past, parents used to hide sweets underneath it. Today, there are special compartments in the “back” where sweets can be placed. In the meantime, this Catalan custom is no longer so widespread.
Christmas Lottery – “El Gordo”
There is one sure sign that the Christmas season has begun in Mallorca: everyone is buying lottery tickets like crazy.
Lotteries are important all year round in Spain, but become essential at Christmas time. Schools and clubs sell numbers for so-called rifas (raffles) in December to raise money for a good cause. Students often use the money raised to pay for their graduation trips. The prizes usually include baskets of delicacies for Christmas dinner.
The most important and best-known lottery draw takes place on 22 December. It is the drawing of the big state Christmas lottery, which has been taking place since 1812.
Wooden balls are drawn from two large lottery drums, one containing five-digit ticket numbers and the other containing the prizes. The drawing is done by students from a school in Madrid who sing both the ticket numbers and the prizes.
Each of the five-digit ticket numbers comes ten times. If you want to buy all ten tickets of a series, you have to pay 200 €. But since this is too much for most people, another custom has developed. Families, friends or work colleagues get together and divide up a series among themselves. You pay less, but in the end you only get a tenth of the profit. It is good manners to take part in a lottery. In the meantime, you can also buy shares in their lottery in some shops or bars and restaurants. The main prize of the lottery is called “El Gordo”. This literally means “the fat one”.
The Christmas Holidays on Mallorca
The Christmas holidays in Mallorca begin on 24 December and end on 7 January, but are celebrated somewhat differently than in Germany.
24 December – Christmas Eve
Traditionally, Christmas Eve is celebrated on Mallorca with a joint family meal. Many hotels and restaurants offer a gala lunch or dinner for this occasion. Tables should be reserved in advance.
Traditionally, Christmas dinner includes hot chocolate and ensaimadas.
Hot chocolate – chocolate caliente – could also be called the Mallorcan equivalent of mulled wine. It is served with ensaimadas, a typical Mallorcan lard pastry, and also with churros.
Another well-known Christmas pastry is polverones. As the name might suggest, this is a powdery pastry and is made of lard, sugar, flour, nuts and milk and looks like a sweet.
On Christmas Eve, there are no presents in Spain, only small gifts.
For the Catholic population, the Mallorcan Christmas Eve also includes a visit to the midnight mass, the Noche de Maitines. In many churches, services are already held in the afternoon, in some of them also in German.
The typical service includes the singing of the Sibilla (Canto de Sibila), which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in November 2010. This is a medieval church chant that is usually performed by a single girl. She carries a sword and thus embodies the role of the Sibyl of Erythrai. She is often accompanied by children with candles, singing the Canto de Sibila as an a cappella chant.
Often the young population goes out to celebrate after the Christmas mass.
25 December – First Christmas Day
The 25th of December is also a holiday in Spain, when Christmas is celebrated with the entire extended family. This includes a sumptuous feast. This typically consists of a suckling pig (porcella) and the traditional spreadable sausages, sobrasadas, with which the suckling pig is also stuffed. Pasta filled with meat, called galets, and the poultry stew escaldums are also not to be missed. Children especially enjoy túrron at Christmas time. This is a Mallorcan dessert made of almonds and a sugar-egg mixture whose origins date back some 500 years to the Moorish period.
6 January – Los Reyes Magos
What Christmas Eve is for children in Germany, 6 January is for Spanish children, because this is the day when the presents are given. Instead of Father Christmas or the Christ Child, the Three Kings – Los Reyes Magos – bring the presents.
On the evening of 5 January, they parade through the streets.
Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar arrive in the port of Palma by boat and begin their procession from there with colourfully decorated floats and beautiful figures. During the parade, they keep throwing sweets from the carriage into the crowd, which especially the little ones are very happy about.
Before going to bed, the children place biscuits and milk for the kings and water for their camels in front of the front door. The next morning they find their presents. Sometimes a piece of coal is among them. If the children are good, this piece, called Carbon de Reyes, is sweet and made of sugar. These sweets can be found in many Spanish bakeries at the beginning of January.
Another traditional sweet for 6 January is the Roscón de Reyes. This is a yeast wreath traditionally decorated with dried fruit and filled with cream. Some Spaniards also bake a hard bean and a royal figure into the yeast wreath. Whoever finds the figure is given a crown and, according to belief, will have good luck in the coming year. The person who finds the hard bean has to buy the yeast wreath next year.
New Year’s Eve on Mallorca
If you have decided to spend Christmas on the most beautiful island in the world, it is best to stay over New Year’s Eve as well. This day is also a special experience on Mallorca.
Despite many parties, New Year’s Eve, called Noche Vieja, is a rather contemplative custom.
Although some celebrate New Year’s Eve in public places, such as at the huge open-air party at Palma Town Hall followed by fireworks right on the harbour of Palma de Mallorca, most people spend the evening at home with their family. As always, this includes a sumptuous dinner. Restaurants, bars and nightclubs also offer special menus and events for this.
Whether at home or out, an elegant wardrobe is a must on this evening.
When the clock strikes twelve at midnight, Spaniards eat a grape with every chime. This is supposed to bring good luck in the new year. This superstition originated in 1909, when the grape harvest was so abundant that the remaining grapes had to be used in a different way. Another custom is to wear red underwear on New Year’s Eve. This is also supposed to bring luck in the new year, especially for love.
The New Year is greeted with fireworks in towns and on beaches all over the island.
