Whilst English people have a Christmas dinner with roasted turkey, gravy and stuffing, Spanish people have roasted lamb with different side dishes often containing a mix of Spanish ham, cheese and roasted shrimp.
Realistically, my favourite part about Spanish Christmas food is the different sweets we have. Fudge and nougat are the most popular sweet treat: you can find so many flavours that you won’t have enough time to try them all. My favourite one is ‘Suchard’, a chocolate nougat with cereal bits on it.
Spanish people have roasted lamb with different side dishes often containing a mix of Spanish ham, cheese and roasted shrimp
We also have different types of sugared almonds, marzipans, and shortbread cookies, but nothing tops having hot chocolate with some fudge.
Another sweet treat that represents Spanish Christmas is ‘Roscón de Reyes’ or ‘Three Kings’ Cake’. This is eaten during the Three Kings Day, from the 5th to the 6th of January. The fun thing about this cake is that you can get crowned as the king for the day if you find the tiny figure that’s hidden somewhere in the cake. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with finding this figure and I would start crying if I didn’t find it.
But the most recognisable tradition that we have is having 12 grapes before midnight in New Years’ Eve. Each grape symbolises a wish that you want to achieve in the new year and it’s my favourite thing about spending Christmas at home.