After more than 20 years, posts here will now only be occasional ( |
| Inmaculada Concepción (The Immaculate Conception) |
December begins with two National public holidays on Mon 7 December - Monday in lieu as 6 December falls on a Sunday - for Día de la Constitución Española (Constitution Day and Tue 8 December for Inmaculada Concepción (The Immaculate Conception). The four days, including the weekend, make un puente (translates to bridge) or short break for many people. It's customary to put up Christmas decorations on the weekend closest to 8 December, but the holiday period always kicks off proper with El Gordo (The Fat One), the Spanish Christmas Lottery, which is drawn on 22 December.
Theatre, film, exhibitions, music and dance are all included in the culture program for the Christmas period. The Guimerá Theater will offer shows for children, as will the La Recova Scenic Space. It was also announced that the Book Fair will be held from December 3 to 8 in the Palmetum car park.Folk groups will tour the districts animating the streets with Christmas carols, activities in which the three bands of the municipality will also participate. The city's shop windows will become improvised art galleries, where artists will exhibit their creations. On December 5 the nativity scene in the Plaza de la Candelaria will be inaugurated, while on the 15th the Palmetum will open to the show Naturaleza Encendida (literally, Nature Lit Up), which has already sold 2,000 tickets.
Christmas Day, Fri 25 December is a Public holiday. For Canarians, this is often recovery day after a big [limited this year] family gathering on Christmas Eve that involved a whole barbecued goat kid and lots of turrón and other traditional Christmas sweets. Boxing Day isn't a thing in Spain or the Canaries.
The Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has decided to cancel the XXVIII edition of the Christmas Concert, usually held on December 25. It will be the first time that this Christmas event, held every year since 1994, has been cancelled. Normally, it has brought together thousands of people in the port of Tenerife to enjoy the best classical music live by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra.
Christmas in La Orotava: After the Christmas lights switch on and the inauguration of the nativity outside the town hall took place, the online portal for sending a letter to Los Reyes was opened and a Virtual wine tasting wit Bodegas Tajinaste was held. On Friday 4 December, there is a further Virtual Wine Tasting with Bodegas Tafuriaste and the inauguration of the Nativity at the Liceo de Taoro, where an art exhibition opens. As many of these events are being transmitted via La Orotava town hall's social media, this opens them up, not only to locals, but the world.
From Friday 18 December until Tuesday 5 January, a Christmas Crafts Fair will be present in the Plaza de la Constitución, La Orotava.
Finally, there are 32 nativity displays to see on the town's XIII Ruta de Belenes 2020 for which you can download the full program (PDF) here. As well as being able to visit these in person, this is also being accompanied by a Virtual Route made up of small videos of each one of the nativity scenes. These will be published progressively through various Facebook pages, including the Prensa Ayuntamiento La Orotava.
There are no municipal public holidays in December.
On 28 December, beware of El Día de Los Santos Inocentes (Day of the Innocent Saints), the Spanish equivalent of April Fool's Day.
And that, of course, brings us to the end of the year and New Year's Eve. Spanish Television will broadcast the chimes from the Plaza de España and the fireworks displays in the five districts celebrating the New Year.
