St. Nicholas and Christmas

Saint Nicholas Day - December 6
The Engels have always celebrated Saint Nicholas Day, which is a Dutch tradition (really). We didn't want to overwhelm the kids with Christmas presents ... but realized that they still needed socks and underwear.

So, every year we go to our church, Saint Nicholas, to hear the stories and re-enactments of Saint Nicholas' deeds. Then, before going to bed, the kids put their shoes outside the door. In memory of the humble and gracious Saint Nicholas, we put coins and small gifts into their shoes for the morning.
This year, when packing for Spain, we brought one grocery bag of our Christmas favorites (that would fit in the bag). On the eve of Saint Nicholas, we got them out ... Santa's clothesline that Andreia and Bronson made, a stained glass Christmas tree from Franca; a Christmas tablecloth from Oma, our Christmas Almanac from Monique, Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury from Margarita, snowman towels from Betty, Three Trees from Dena, dancing snowman from Oma, 3D glasses from Susan, Haitian nativity set from Amy, jingle bells from Franca, Santa Bunny, and rock-n-roll Santa. Wow! A lot of great memories fit in that bag.

On the morning of Saint Nicholas Day, the kids reveled in those memories.

Every year, we wear our jingle bells during the Christmas season. Last year, Oma told us that when she died, she would ring our bells to get our attention. She died just before Christmas ... so, we started calling our jingle bells "Oma-bells" and everytime they jingle, we said 'hello' to Oma.

Christmas - Navidad
In Spain, Christmas is kind of like Thanksgiving. Families come together, prepare food for twice as many people, give thanks, and eat. Elvira started us off on the right foot by bringing us a big box of Spanish turrones. A direct translation of turrones is "upper thighs." They are bars of honey, sugar, almonds, and _____ (fill in the blank). Matthew liked them so much he bought some more to send to his parents, brothers, aunt and uncle.

The most popular Christmas decorations are nativity scenes (belenes). There was a belén at the kids' school, on people's desks, on the streets, and in churches. Many of the belenes that we saw were really, really elaborate ... depicting the physical and spiritual journey to Bethlehem. You might think that if you have seen one, you have seen them all. If you walk by them quickly, that is true. If you actually look at the details, that is not true at all. They are very impressive. If we stay in Spain, I'd like to be a belenista ... an actual profession of people who create belenes.

Another common holiday decoration is red carpet in front of stores. Really, they are disposable red mats ... but they give a warm, welcoming look to the stores, buildings, and neighborhoods.

There are a few Christmas trees and decorations. We saw a fake Christmas tree for sale ... 160€ (multiply that by 1.5 to get US dollars). Ha ha hah! So, we made two (paper) Christmas trees and taped them to the back of the doors. Santa Claus (Papa Noël) has become more popular recently. Most people in Valencia live in apartment buildings - so instead the roof-top scene, Santa Claus is seen climbing up to the balconies.

Papa Noël ... or, in our case, it is Papa, Mama, and Sister Noël. Our friends Julia, Juan, and Livia gathered and brought carts and a dozen bags of toys and clothing for the children. They were gently and some hardly used ... but all new for us. It was like Christmas!! Well, actually, it was Christmas.


Julia also gave us a bunch of tickets to the Christmas youth expo (ExpoJove) ... where there are 1000s of activities, performances, games, and prizes for kids. We spent two days there and didn't get to all of the activities.


There are also several circuses and fairs that come to Valencia during the holiday season. Bronson and Maria went to the circus with our neighbors Olga, Oliver, Marion, and Lorenzo. We also went to the fair at the beach which was replete with rides, games, cotton candy, ... paella and legs of jamón.

We hosted a children's Christmas party for a few of our little friends. Yana led the cooking activity in the kitchen where we baked chocolate chip cookies. Some of the cookies were edible. Kerline led the craft activities in the dining room where we colored, cut snowflakes, and made water color paintings. Maria led the music activities in the living room where we sang, danced, and played games.

More Christmas photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157603732014681/