SPAIN

The tradition of eating "Las doce uvas de la suerte" (The Twelve Grapes of Luck) in Spain involves eating one grape with each of the twelve clock chimes at midnight on New Year's Eve . This fun, fast-paced ritual requires eating a grape for each of the final twelve seconds before midnight, symbolizing 12 months of prosperity; failure to finish means bad luck, so don't forget to eat your twelve grapes on New Year's Eve.

Lourdes Bravo Bolarín

SPAIN TRADITIONS

The tradition of the Three Wise Men is celebrated in more countries than in Spain. Here in Spain the night of the 5th of January there is a big charade "La Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos" with a lot of characters from Christmas, like Santa Claus, the Three Wise Men, Disney characters and many others. They pass by the people and children and give them candy and toys. On this night the Three Wise men leave gifts for the children at their homes.

On the 6th of January, you can not miss to taste a "Kings Cake" (Roscón de Reyes)  it is shaped like a crown and it is covered with crystallized fruit and sugar and you can choose a filling, cream, chocolate cream or pastry cream.

4º Gudrun Helga Gisladottir

ITALIAN  TRADITIONS  ON NEW YEAR'S EVE

In Italy red clothes, underwear and accessories are  worn  on New Year's Eve for good luck, love and prosperity  for the coming year.

People have parties and at midnight they eat " lentils and cotechino", that is pork sausage, because they believe  that eating them will bring money and good luck  

    Francesca  Pisu  class : 1 ^ A and 1^B

                                EPIPHANY  IN ITALY

On  the 6th January  children wait for the   " Befana" , an old lady that ,with  her flying broomstick ,brings  stockings  full of candies, chocolate and sweets to good children  and stockings full of pieces of coal to naughty children. Actually, the coal is a joke because it is a sweet in the shape of a piece of coal. In the main  squares of Italian cities there are street markets, stalls that sell stockings with sweets and puppets of the Befana , street artists and people can see the show of the "Befana" that descents from  the roof of the town hall.