Christmas Day in Spain is somewhat different to many countries. While being a national holiday, with shops and banks closed, it is often not celebrated in the same way as in Britain or America.

Christmas Day is known as Navidad and is another opportunity to have a meal with family and friends at home or to visit church.

On a Spanish Christmas Day, it is not tradition to exchange gifts with your loved ones. Instead, children may receive a very small gift but there is traditionallly no Santa Claus or equivalent in Spain. The traditional time of giving and receiving gifts is on January the 6th, El día de Reyes (3 Kings Day).

Times are changing however and nowadays many families, especially of a non religious background, are celebrating Christmas more like their western compatriots. It is still prediminantly the '3 wise men' who arrive with gifts in January rather than Santa in December, but many shops are now displaying Father Christmas in their windows! It is also becoming more common to see families eating out on the afternoon of Christmas day.

These changes can be attributed With the world becoming an ever smaller place, and the global village becoming ever more closely-knitted through our television habits (most television in Spain is imported) and multi cultural societies. Due to watching the same films and tv shows, Spanish children are just about as aware of Santa Clause as children from other countries and are becoming to expect presents on Christmas day (as well as the more traditional 3 Kings Day)