Christmas, or Navidad, is a festive time throughout Spain. From large cities to small towns throughout the country, Christmas is a time for family and friends to come together. No celebration in Spain would be complete without food, and Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) is the day that families will join together to have their main Christmas meal.
Spaniards are huge consumers of seafood and shellfish, and even in the land-locked capital of Madrid you can always get the freshest seafood available at all times. While each region may have its own traditional foods, the Christmas Eve meal in Spain consists mainly of fish – some favorites include merluza (hake), besugo (sea bream), trucha (trout), or róbalo (sea bass), and a wide variety of shellfish – including langostinos (large prawns) and angulas (baby eels). Angulas are a prized dish around the holidays, as they are very scarce and, as a result, can be quite expensive. Favorite Christmas desserts include turrón, a Spanish nougat made with honey and almonds, marzipan formed into animal shapes, and polvorones, a typical Andalusian butter bread.
After the Christmas Eve meal, many families will go to midnight mass, known as the Misa del Gallo (Cock Mass), as it is said that the cock crowed on Christmas morning to announce the birth of Christ.
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