[NOT] Home for the Holiday's

(Me, Sara & Melissa in Sol by the xmas tree)

It didn’t quite feel like the Holiday’s in Madrid without snow like there is back home or my family around, but I was still happy because I knew it was a non-traditional Holiday and a special experience to have while living in another country.  I wasn’t really in Madrid during the Holidays (I was in Paris + Rome), but here’s a little bit about what we did at school...

Because most of the people in Spain are Catholic, the school was NOT non-denominational and decorated with only Christmas trees, baby Jesus’, and other Catholic symbols.  It was strange for me because I’m used to having to say “Happy Holiday’s” and only seeing snowmen and snowflakes, so as not to favor/exclude those from other beliefs/religions.

(xmas tree made from kids' hands!)

In addition to celebrating Christmas Eve, Christmas day and New Years eve, Spain also celebrates “El Dia de los Reyes Magos” or The Three Kings day.  The Three Kings thing really threw me off, because apparently kids get presents for Christmas (from Santa) as well as the Three Kings.  Also, when Santa and the Three Kings came to visit school the last day of school before break, I nearly bust a gut because one of the kings is supposed to be white, one is Mexican (?..or at least non-white) and one is supposed to be black.  Since there aren’t many black people/black parents who volunteered to dress up as the black King, one guy was literally painted BLACK.  It was hilarious and oh-so-wrong. 

(case in point)

In addition to the King’s visit, different grades put on music concerts.  Some of the older kids sang Spanish Christmas songs, while the kids in first and second grade sang American songs.  It was soooo cute!  The second graders also put on a little play in Spanish, which was also super cute.

(1st graders concert)

(Second grade play)      

I decided to share a little bit of my Ameircan culture with my co-workers buy baking some Christmas cookies. I made Mexican Wedding Cakes and Sugar cookies with frosting.  Although I had to work with some makeshift ingredients and didn’t have any cookie cutters, my cookies were a hit! Christmas cookie-baking isn’t a Spanish tradition, so everyone was excited to try something new.  All day my co-workers were complimenting me and asking for the recipes.