Christmas in Barcelona

Whilst Barcelona is definitely not the place to visit if you want to see snow, reindeer and Santa Clause, it does have its own special brand of Christmas magic.

Although the warm summer weather makes way for cooler days in December, Barcelona can still enjoy its fair share of sunshine and some pleasantly warm days over the winter period.

For some this may make Christmas seem a little strange, however if you want to escape the freezing conditions of places like England and Scotland, it will be a welcome break.

Still not sure! Then read on and find out why Barcelona makes a great Christmas or winter season destination.

Christmas Events

The Christmas celebrations in Spain are very different to those of the UK, Ireland, the USA and Australia.

For one thing Spain is still a country with an official Christian religion that is incorporated into all aspects of life and this means that Christmas is more of a religious festival than a more general celebrative spectacle.

Even so, there are many events of tourist interest and they start as early as 5th December with the King's procession. This is a traditional march that sees the three kings lead a procession that, in Barcelona, commences at 5.00pm at the Portal de la Pau and makes its way around the city concluding at around 9.00pm.

During this time children leave out an empty shoe which the kings then fill with treasure or presents. This is similar to the Santa Clause tradition where an empty stocking is left for Father Christmas to fill.

The Kings procession end at Montjuic and is a major event in the city's calendar with many thousands of people getting involved.

Midnight Mass is another big Christmas event in Barcelona and it bridges Christmas Eve and the day itself.

Known locally as misa del gallo (which translates to Rooster's mass) this ceremony is the pinnacle of the Christmas period. The strange name comes from folk law that claims that the only time that a rooster crows at midnight on the day when Jesus was born.

Other interesting things to see include the nativity scenes around the city, many of which are permanent and the most famous one of these is to be found at the la Sagarda Familia. However one thing that surprises many visitors is the presence of an additional nativity character known as Caganer in many make-shift nativity models.

Caganer is a small prone figure who is found hidden away in many nativity scenes and crouching over with his trousers down. This intent of the figure is that of a person using the toilet and quite how he came about is not really known. Some say that he has appeared in these scenes for almost three centuries, but since his presences can cause offence he is generally placed in discreet location that requires you to hunt for him. Most official nativities no longer include Caganer.