Spain is located in Southwestern Europe, occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula. It borders Portugal to the west and France to the northeast. Spain's official language is Spanish and its capital and largest city is Madrid. Some key aspects of Spanish culture discussed in the document include the importance of family, the tradition of the midday siesta, and Spain's influential cuisine such as paella, tapas, and gazpacho soup. Major Christian holidays like Christmas and Three Kings Day are celebrated with meals, gifts, and religious traditions. Regional cultures also influence holidays, with figures like Olentzero in the Basque Country and the pooping log in Catalonia.

1. SSPPAAIINN
((EESSPPAAÑÑAA
))

2. WWHHAATT IISS
SSPPAAIINN??
• Officially the Kingdom of Spain
• Member of the European Union
• Located in South-Western
Europe
• Capital: Madrid

3. GGEEOOGGRRAAPPHHYY

4. GGEEOOGGRRAAPPHHYY
• Located in the Iberian
Peninsula(occupies about 85% of it)
• Borders Portugal on the West,
Gibraltar and Morocco on the South
and France and Andorra on the
North-east
• Spain includes the Balearic Islands in
the Mediterranean Sea, the Canary
Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and a
number of uninhabited islands in the
Mediterranean Sea.

5. MMOONNEEYY
• The currency used in Spain is
Euro

6. PPEEOOPPLLEE
• The people in Spain are referred to as
Spaniards
• Approximately 87.8% of the people are
natives and the rest are immigrants
• Part of the Spanish population is the
Spanish Roma (formerly-nomadic
community that holds importance in
Spanish culture and folklore)
• Religion:
– Catholics: 76%
– Other religions: 5%
– Atheists: 19%
• Literacy rate: 97.9%

7. CCOONNFFOORRMMIITTIIEE
SS
• Greetings consist
of a handshake
and a kiss on both
cheeks
• Spanish men
maintain longer
eye contact with females
• Life is slow paced
• Life begins when the sun goes
down

8. FFAAMMIILLYY
• Spain is very family oriented
• Sunday is considered as a“Family Day” and all of
the malls and stores are closed so no one in the
family has to work and everybody can spend the
time with their loved ones
• Spaniards eat lunch together almost every day
• The grandparents usually live with the families
• Families usually live near each other

9. SSIIEESSTTAA
• Short nap taken in the
early afternoon, often
after the midday meal
• Such a period of sleep
is a common tradition
in Spain
• The real siesta takes
place in the bed and in
pyjamas, but a suitable sofa is also fine if
a bed is not available
• Timing is very important. A siesta should
last between 15-30 minutes, not more
than that

10. NNIIGGHHTTLLIIFFEE
• Evenings start with el paseo(a stroll
along the street)
• Street bars are open till late night
• Nightclubs are the main attraction
for teenagers

11. LLAANNGGUUAAGGEE
• Spanish (Español) is the
official language of Spain
• Second most spoken language
in the world- 6.15%- percent of
world population

12. CCHHRRIISSTTMMAASS

13. CCHHRRIISSTTMMAASS
• December 23:
– Sing, pray, and eat together at every
house
– Sing villancicos (carols) together
– Asaltos – surprise visits by groups
of friends going from one house to
another
– Children ask for aguinaldo (or small
gift)
• December 24 “La noche buena”:
– Everyone attends midnight mass
– Drink, dance, open presents, eat
foods such as tamales and turkey

14. CHRISTMAS EVE
• The typical courses of this special
dinner are shellfish, fish ( sea
bream, gilt head bream, see bass,
hake), lamb, turkey, ham
• To drink it is drunk wine, cider and
cava (spanish sparkling wine
similar to french champagne)
• After dinner are eaten the typical
christmas sweets ( nougat candy,
marzipan, polvoron…)

15. Most families eat their main
Christmas meal on the Christmas Eve
before the service. The traditional
Spanish Christmas dinner is 'Pavo
Trufado de Navidad' which is Turkey
stuffed with truffles. In Galicia. The
most popular meal for Christmas Eve
and for Christmas Day is seafood.

16. After the mi dnight service, people walk
through the streets carrying torches,
playing guitars and beating on tambourines
and drums. One Spanish saying is 'Esta
noche es Noche-Buena, Y no Es noche de
dormir' which means 'Tonight is the good
night and it is not meant for sleeping!'

19. Typical drinks of
christmas
• In the Christmas holidays is very popular to
have drinks for toasting with the friends and
family
• The most common drink is the Cava, which is
a sparkling wine
• In Spain the Cava has certificate of origin from
the Autonomous community of Cataluña

20. Christmas sweets
• In the Christmas holidays are very typical
sweets made with almonds
• The most important sweets in Christmas
are: the nougat candy, the marzipan and
polvorones

21. Christmas day
The Christmas day is celebrated
with a food similar to the
Christmas eve

22. A few different languages are
spoken in different regions in Spain.
In Spanish Happy/Merry Christmas
is 'Feliz Navidad';
in Catalan it's 'Bon Nadal'; and
in Galician 'Bo Nadal'.

23. Día de los santos
inocentes
• December 28th is 'Día de los santos
inocentes' or 'Day of the Innocent Saints' and
is very like Aprils Fools Day in the UK and
USA. People try to trick each other into
believing silly stories and jokes. Newspapers
and TV stations also run silly stories. If you
trick someone, you can call them 'Inocente,
inocente' which means 'innocent, innocent'.
28th December is when people all over the
world remember the babies that were killed
on the orders of King Herod when he was
trying to kill the baby Jesus.

24. New Year's Eve
Like most festivals in Spain, New Year's Eve,
known as "Nochevieja" is usually a family affair
which takes place at home.
Until midnight people tend to stay at home and
on the stroke of midnight it is traditional to eat 12
grapes, one on each stroke of the clock to bring
good luck for the New Year.
This tradition began when after a particularly big
grape harvest the king of Spain decided to give
everybody grapes to eat on New Year's Eve.

25. • It is traditional to listen to the
clock from Puerta del Sol in
Madrid, usually via
the television. Even young
people won’t go out with their
friends until they have seen the
New Year in with their families.
Throughout the country there are
street parties and special nights
in hotels and clubs everywhere.

26. New year day
( 1 of January)
The first day of the year is holiday in
Spain and is celebrated by eating with the
family.
The food for this day is usually fish,
lamb,piglet, ham, etc.

27. Apart fr om Christmas, there is
another festival that is celebrated
in Spain that is about the
Christmas Story. It is called
Epiphany and is celebrated on 6th
January. This is the twelfth night
after Christmas. In Spanish,
Epiphany is called 'Fiesta de Los
tres Reyes Mages': in English this
means 'The festival of the three
Magic Kings'. Epiphany celebrates
when the Kings or Wise
men brought gifts to the baby
Jesus.

28. DDÍÍAA DDEE LLOOSS TTRREESS
RREEYYEESS ((TTHHRREEEE KKIINNGGSS
DDAAYY))
• Children fill small boxes with
grass for the King’s horses and
parents replace the grass with
gifts
• Christmas decorations are taken
down
• Boys play the part of the three
kings and wear fake beards,
crowns, and long robes and sit in
the plazas of towns where
children go to have their pictures
taken

29. Some big towns and cities have
Epiphany Parades with each King
having a big float that is shaped
like a camel. Sometimes there are
also real camels in the parade. The
Three Kings in the the Spanish
Epiphany are:
Gaspar,
Melchior,
Balthazar

30. A special cake called 'Roscón' is
eaten at Epiphany. Roscón means
'ring shape roll'. It is very doughy
and is bought from a bakery on
Epiphany morning. Roscón can be
filled with cream or chocolate and
contain a little gift.

31. Christmas in the
Basque Country
• In the Basque country (which is a
part of northern Spain and southern
France), on Christmas Eve,
children's presents are delivered by
a magical man called Olentzero.
He's a big, overweight man wearing
a beret and smoking a pipe. He
dresses like a Basque farmer.

32. Christmas in
Catalonia
• In the Catalonia province of Spain there's a
Christmas character called 'Tió de Nadal'
(the Christmas log) or he's sometimes
known as 'Caga tio' (the pooping log!). It's
a small hollow log propped up on two legs
with a smiling face painted on one end.

33. CCUUIISSIINNEE

34. CCUUIISSIINNEE
• Is influenced by the Phoenicians, Greeks,
Romans, Jews, Moors and Muslim
Andulicians
• Their traditional pattern is composed of four
meals a day plus some snacks:
– A light breakfast (desayuno): coffee or
chocolate, bread, or churros
– Midmorning breakfast: grilled sausages,
fried squid, bread with tomato or an
omelet
– Light snack: tapas
– Lunch (comida): soup or salad, fish or
meat, and dessert
– Tea and pastries (merienda)
– Supper: soup or omelets and fruit

35. TTAAPPAASS
• Finger food, or (tapas) can be anything that is
served as a finger food usually in a small bowl
• This finger food can be anything from cheese
& ham to olives and is usually eaten at the
same time as drinking at a tapas bar
• The finger food is usually left out on bars and
people will nibble away while drinking and
socializing at the bar

36. THE most famous
tapas
Manchego Cheese Jam
“Gambas” Olives

37. PPAAEELLLLAA
• Valencian rice dish
• Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's
national dish, but most Spaniards consider it
to be a regional Valencian dish
• There are three widely known types of paella:
– Valencian paella
– Seafood paella
– Mixed paella

38. Rice pudding
(Arroz con
leche )
Fixuelos

39. CCAATTAALLAANN
•CCMRRoEEsAAt fMMamous dish in
Catalonia
• Served on Saint
Joseph's Day, March
19 th and is flavored
with lemon or
orange zest, and
cinnamon.
GGAAZZPPAACCHHOO
• Raw vegetable soup
made of hard bread,
tomato, cucumber,
bell pepper, garlic,
olive oil, vinegar of
wine, and salt

40. PPAATTAATTAASS
BBRRAAVVAASS

41. GGAAMMBBAASS AAJJIILLLLOO
((GGAARRLLIICC
PPRRAAWWNNSS))

42. PPEESSCCAADDOO FFRRIITTOO
((FFRRIIEEDD FFIISSHH))

43. TTOORRTTIILLLLAA
EESSPPAAÑÑOOLLAA
((SSPPAANNIISSHH OOMMEELLEETT))

64. GGRRAACCIIAASS