Bon Nadal! Feliz Navidad!

City by city, the Christmas light competition across Spain is fierce. Since the streets lit up Dec. 1, we’ve enjoyed a full month of Christmas light displays across a half dozen major cities in Spain (photos below): Ubeda, Cordoba, Malaga, Ronda, Jerez and Barcelona. And the winner is…Malaga! Runner up…Cordoba.

We’re spending Christmas and New Year’s in Barcelona, and I share the more unique Catalonia traditions further down this post.

Nativity scenes are to be seen everywhere across Andalucia, even more publicly than in the U.S., serving as the centerpiece of many shop windows, homes, city-center displays, and at the many outdoor Christmas markets (“Pessebre” in Catalan).

Advent calendars are also very popular among children – it seems that every child has an advent calendar, some – like our neighbor in Cordoba – who received a small present each day in December.

Missa del Gall (Rooster’s Mass) is Christmas Eve midnight mass. We attended one at Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona’s only Gothic church, known as the “people’s cathedral.”

Presents are more traditionally opened Jan. 5-6 for Dia de los Reyes (La Calvacada), or the Kings’ Day – a celebration of the arrival of the three wise men in Bethlehem after Jesus’ birth. Parades, floats, candy, and gifts flow.

Catalonia has its own curious Christmas traditions, including Caga Tio and Caganer. They are a prevalent sight wandering Barcelona during Christmas. Caga Tio is a log stuffed with dried fruit, nuts and candy throughout the holidays then children hit open the Tio on Christmas. Caganer is a small figurine of a boy pooping, an essential part of most Catalonia nativity scenes. There is also a “Pa del Coganer” loaf, similar to panettone, that is consumed.