SPAIN (ESPAÑA

)

• Officially the Kingdom of Spain

• Member of the European Union

• Located in South-Western Europe

• Capital: Madrid

WHAT IS SPAIN?

GEOGRAPHY

• 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.

GEOGRAPHY

• The currency used in Spain is Euro

• 1 Euro is equal to 1.3259 US$

MONEY

• 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%

PEOPLE

• 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

CONFORMITIES

• Spain is very family oriented• Sunday is considered “Family Day” and all

of the malls and stores are closed so no one in the family has to work and everybody can spend time with their loved ones

• Spaniards eat lunch together almost everyday

• The grandparents usually live with the families

• Families usually live near each other

FAMILY

• 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

SIESTA

• Evenings start with el paseo(a stroll along the street)

• Spanish life is lived in the streets

• Street cafes and bars are open till late night

• Nightclubs are the main attraction for teenagers

NIGHTLIFE

• Education in Spain is free and it lasts from 6 to 16 years of age.

• Children from the ages of 3-5 have the opportunity of attending pre-school, which is free for all students

• The child can get a job when he or she is 16 years old

• The current education in Spain is known as the Fundamental Law of Education

EDUCATION

• Spanish (Español) is the official language of Spain

• Second most spoken language in the world

LANGUAGE

• Music in Spain is traditionally very upbeat and fast

• Over time, the music types of pop, rock, hip-hop and heavy metal have become popular, especially in Madrid and Barcelona

• Spain has over 40,000 professional orchestras

• The most popular traditional musical instrument, the guitar, originated in Spain

MUS C

CHRISTMAS

• 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

CHRISTMAS

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 it is eaten the typical christmas sweets ( nougat candy, marzipan, polvoron…)

Most families eat their main Christmas

meal on Christmas Eve before the service. The traditional Spanish Christmas dinner is 'Pavo Trufado de Navidad' which is Turkey stuffed with truffles (the mushrooms, not the chocolate ones!) In Galicia (a region in north-west Spain, surrounded by water) the most popular meal for Christmas Eve and for Christmas Day is seafood. This can all kinds of different seafood, from shellfish and mollusks, to lobster and small edible crabs.

After the midnight 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!'

Baked sea bream

Roasted lamb

Shellfish

Ham

Turkey

Typical drinks of christmas

• In the Christmas holidays is very usually 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

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

Polvorones

Marzipan

Nougat Candy

Christmas dayThe Christmas day is

celebrated with a food similar to the Christmas eve

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'.

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.

New Year's EveLike 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.

• 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.

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.

Apart from 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.

• 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

DÍA DE LOS TRES REYES (THREE KINGS DAY)

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

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.

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.

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.

CUISINE

CUISINE• 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

TAPAS

• 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

THE most famous tapas

Manchego Cheese Jam

“Gambas” Olives

PAELLA

• 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

Rice pudding (Arroz con leche )

Fixuelos

CATALAN CREAM• Most famous dish

in Catalonia• Served on Saint

Joseph's Day, March 19 and is flavored with lemon or orange zest, and cinnamon.GAZPACHO

• Raw vegetable soup made of hard bread, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, vinegar of wine, and salt

PATATAS BRAVAS

GAMBAS AJILLO (GARLIC PRAWNS)

PESCADO FRITO (FRIED FISH)

TORTILLA ESPAÑOLA (SPANISH OMELET)

GRACIAS