Bon Any

Happy New Year (in Catalán)! Or happy another year. I really have no words for what we’re all going through, but it doesn’t seem “new.”

Eating 12 grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve is a tradition and a superstition in Spain, one grape for each stroke of midnight. Each one symbolizes one of the 12 lucky months ahead. The biggest challenge is to not gag as you cram them in your mouth or swallow while laughing.

I read that the tradition “can also be particularly dangerous to elderly people and children under the age of five, where the risk of choking is significantly higher. For this reason, the Spanish Society of Otolaryngology has issued a warning where they advise the most vulnerable groups to avoid partaking in the popular custom.” Ha! I beat the odds! It was a bit of a challenge, but I got them all down and I’m looking forward to a very lucky year!!

On to the next holiday…Three Kings Day. The 5th of January is the day when children in Spain receive their Christmas presents from the “Three Kings”. Remember that on Christmas, they receive treats shitted out of a log! (see prior blog post). On January 6, Epiphany concludes the Twelve Days of Christmas. It’s the tradition on this day to eat a cake called “Tortell de Reis” (cake of kings). It’s a round cake filled with marzipan or whipped cream similar in appearance and texture to a New Orleans’ King Cake. Inside the cake instead of a baby are two surprises : a dried field bean and a figurine of one of the three kings. The lucky one who gets the figurine is allowed to wear a paper crown. The person who finds the bean has to pay for the cake!

The last photo above is of my Christmas “haul” from the city of Begur. Every resident aged 65 or over receives a basket of champagne, sweets, paté, olives, and a calendar! I love this place!

Here’s hoping for a brighter 2022! I had a great sunset tonight. I can’t resist these posts…