Q 01/05

What is the Spanish name for Christmas Eve, the night of the big family dinner?

A) Nochebuena

B) Noche de Paz

C) Navidad

D) Noche de Reyes

Answer · why

A) Nochebuena

Nochebuena, literally 'Good Night', outranks Christmas Day in most of Spain: the family feast runs late into the night of the 24th, and the 25th is a ...

Q 02/05

Which feast marks the traditional end of the Spanish Christmas season?

A) New Year's Day

B) Epiphany

C) Boxing Day

D) Candlemas

Answer · why

B) Epiphany

Epiphany, 6 January, closes Spain's Christmas season and is its big gift day: children wake to their main presents that morning, and school starts aga...

Q 03/05

What is the Spanish word for the nativity scene displayed in homes, schools and shops?

A) Guirnalda

B) Cotillón

C) Aguinaldo

D) Belén

Answer · why

D) Belén

Belén is Spanish for Bethlehem, and the scene borrows the town's name: many families build the whole village in miniature each December, not only the ...

Q 04/05

Which saint's day is celebrated in Catalonia on 26 December with another family gathering?

A) Nicholas

B) John

C) Sylvester

D) Stephen

Answer · why

D) Stephen

Saint Stephen's Day, Sant Esteve in Catalan, falls on 26 December and gives Catalans a second day of feasting, traditionally on canelons made from Chr...

Q 05/05

Which king completes the trio with Melchior and Caspar in Spain's Three Kings parades?

A) Solomon

B) Cyrus

C) Balthazar

D) Nebuchadnezzar

Answer · why

C) Balthazar

Balthazar completes the trio: Spanish children write a wish letter to their favourite king, or to all three, and the kings' pages collect the last let...