When you think about Christmas, than most of the time you think about; lighted streets, Christmas stalls, trees and white snow. Unfortunately there is a really small chance of that it will be snowing in Barcelona. The last time is snowed in Barcelona was in February 2004 for only 30 minutes. They weather can be between the 14 and 16 degrees at daytime and between the 7 and 15 degrees at midnight.
But if there is no snow, that is not a reason not to go to Barcelona, because Barcelona has a lot of other things to offer. The city is beautiful decorated and different things are organized. Because it isn´t that cold, with a jacket and a hot cup of coffee or chocolate milk you can sit on a terrace and enjoy the beauty of Barcelona.

Beside the Christmas markets you can also visit some Nativity Scenes. The official Nativity Scene is on Placa Sant Jaume, 1 who opens on the 2nd of December 2011 to the 6th of January 2012. The Nativity is completed with Jesus, Mary, Joseph, palm trees, shepherds and the three kings.

In Catalonia the Nativity is called ¨El Pessebre de Nadal¨ or ¨Belén de Judᨠwhat means ¨Bethelehem of Judea¨. The Nativity on Placa Sant Jaume 1 is the largest and most impressive one. But in Barcelona you can find more Nativity scenes on plazas and in churches. Other well known Nativity scenes are on; Melcior de Palau, 6 and Plaza Tibidabo, 5 these are not as big as the Nativity on Place Sant Jaume, 1 but worth a visit.

Also this year the city will be dressed up with a lot of light. The city will cover around the 60km of Christmas light. On the 2nd of December 2011 Barcelona will put on their Christmas light at 18.00h. The light will shine till 6 January 2012. The ceremony will take place on Placa Sant Jaume. The Christmas light is not only the opening of the Calendar of Advent, but also a start of lots of upcoming activities. There will start lots of Christmas markets, holiday collection and shops are decorated with Christmas things, there will be organized concerts and a lot more.

The Christmas lights are called ¨Els llums de Nadal¨. The most beautiful light you will find on famous streets and squares as: Las Ramblas, Rambla de Catalunya, Passeig de Gracia, carrer de Arago, Plaza Catalunya and many more. The big department store ´El Corte Ingles´ is really beautiful decorated with lights so it is a must to see.

In 2010 there were more than 300 places dressed up with lights, there were also 6 Christmas trees spread through Barcelona and on the façade of City Hall was projected a calendar with 25 windows. Every day they opened one window.

Remarkably it is not a tradition to send Christmas carts to family. Most family´s don’t send carts to each other, but some companies are sending cards.

Christmas Eve is one of the most important evenings for Catalan people. During the Christmas period they are a lot together with family and friends.

For Christmas, Catalan people are cooking a lot. A famous Christmas dish at Christmas Eve is ¨escudella I carn d´olla¨. This is a bowl (escudella) filled with pasta shells (galets) in a meat and vegetable stew followed by a turkey. You can buy the Christmas bread ¨El Pa de Nadal¨ in every bakery or supermarket.

Seafood is also an important dish, most family´s start with salmon or prawn dish, followed by homemade soup. This is soup is called ¨Carn d´Olla¨ this is made with a large piece of meat that is cooked for hours. Then the meat can be removed and pasta shells (galets) and vegetables are added. They meat that the soup was cooked is also added in the bowl so you get the ¨escudella l carn d´olla¨. Most people eat it with various tapas dishes. The meal is really expensive but even the poorest families are making it.

Not only with Halloween it is a tradition to eat chestnut, also with Christmas you can buy them on the streets or make them by yourself. To make them you need an oven, knife and water. The Boqueria market at the Ramblas is a good place to buy fresh and cheap chestnuts.

The dinner ends with a dessert. The most famous dessert is a ¨torrons¨ what you can buy on Christmas markets and supermarkets in different flavors. ¨Torrons¨ is made of nougat with almonds, hazelnuts, eggs and honey. Other popular sweets are Polvorones, what a crumbly cookie is made of almond paste and Marzipans what is made of sugar and almonds. Also a famous dessert is ¨prune crema¨. This is made of red wine, dried prunes, caster sugar, double cream and egg yolks. Most people also add fruit or some crispy topping to make it better.

After dinner most people are meeting friends and other families and after wishing them a Happy Christmas most people are going out. During the Christmas and New Year period everyone is drinking lots of Cava what is a Spanish equivalent of Champagne. Lots of families are making special instruments like the Zamboma (kind of drum), Pandereta (tambourine) and Botella de Anis (a bottle with stick what can go up and down). During the playing of these instruments everybody is singing Christmas carols. Children take their instruments and go from door to door, by singing carols and receiving money or sweets.

The evening before Christmas is very important for families and friends. Lots of local churches are having a Mass to celebrate the birthday of Jesus; you also can go to the cathedral. At both you can enjoy the traditional candlelit mass. The biggest ¨La Misa Del Gallo¨ (Christmas Eve Midnight Mass) is at the Benedictine Monastery at Montserrat. The church ¨La Basílica de Montserrat¨ is 40 km northwest of Barcelona. The church is built on the steep cliffs of Montserrat mountain range. At this midnight mass you can hear the choir called L’Escolania de Montserrat. After the mass everyone is going home to celebrate Christmas.