The Three Kings, cakes and the New Year

I do hope that everyone managed to be with their friends and family over the festive period, as the weather decided to disrupt every type of travel around Europe. Now we are in a new year and I suppose we all wait with anticipation, wondering what 2011 will have in store for us.

Here in Spain, the festivities go on for a while! 6th January is one of the most important days of the calendar here, the day of the 3 Kings (tres Reis), when most local towns put on a pageant, mainly for the children, with the “Three Wise Men” as we know them, the 3 Kings here, riding in open horse-drawn carriages throwing sweets to the children in the crowd.. Other floats follow and this at dusk is something that the entire family looks forward to. In Sant Feliu de Guixols, on the coast and just 40 minutes' from Girona, the crowd gathers early to get a good position for the children to be able to catch the sweets thrown on either side, wrapped in colourful paper, easy to spot when they fall, as inevitably they do, on the ground. Traditionally, this was the day when children received their “Christmas presents”, but now, due to advertising and external customs, most children open their presents on Christmas Eve. Nevertheless, 6th January remains an extremely important event for everyone, so every year we hope the weather will be kind as we stand outside for 2-3 hours!

There is also a very special cake to be eaten on this day. It is a cake baked in a ring, so hollow in the centre and inside are hidden a miniature figure of a king or other court member and a bean – the person who receives the king in their slice will be “the King” of the household for the day, and the poor individual who finds the bean is the “servant”of the king for that day. It is a bit of fun and everyone looks forward to this as much laughter and ribaldry goes on when either the “king” or the “servant” are revealed.

On 7th January it is all over. Life begins in earnest again, businesses begin to think about the year ahead, late or “lost” postal deliveries slowly start arriving, the Christmas trees and decorations are taken down and everyone looks forward to the Spring with optimism. In these times of economic hardship, many will be facing the next few months with some anxiety. Before Christmas, some supermarkets were asking their clients to buy extra items to be put in a trolley for families who had become victims of the economic downturn and I am happy to say that in my town, almost everyone did contribute. Despite all the gloom, Spain does have several things in its favour, an excellent climate overall, some stunning coastline and pretty towns not ruined by over development – though one might not believe this it be generally true according to some foreign press articles – generally friendly people who regard tourism as a good thing, a country which over the last 40 years or so has modernised itself and is in the forefront of medical and technical excellence and last but not least, a country which retains its traditions but now looks to the future.

I really hope that Spain continues to deal with its financial adversity well as I, for one, thoroughly enjoy my life here and would not hesitate to encourage others to sample this existence for themselves, always of course, having taken proper advice from lawyers, tax consultants and the like before making the journey.

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

Sally

The Overseas Guides Company
http://www.Spainbuyingguide.com