Ensaladilla rusa. It is not a very typical starter in all Spanish Christmas dinners, but you can find it in many homes. It contains potato, carrot, peas, tuna, boiled egg and mayonnaise, although in every home it is made with some ingredients or others. It is served as a tapa or cold starter.

Huevos rellenos (stuffed eggs). In many homes this starter is very popular, it is served cold, and everyone likes it. Its ingredients are boiled eggs, tuna, mayonnaise and fried tomato, optionally it can have olives and sweet paprika or chopped parsley to decorate.

Canapés. The canapés consist of toasted bread or puff pastry bases with smoked salmon, foie gras, pâté, cream cheese, anchovies... Some are decorated with fresh herbs or fish roe; and are usually accompanied, especially the pâtés, with strawberry jam, onion jam...

Shrimps or prawns. Shrimps can be fresh or grilled and are usually seasoned with coarse salt and lemon; or accompanied with mayonnaise. Also with seafood, another very popular dish is the coctel de gambas (shrimp cocktail) which has shrimp, lettuce and pink sauce, but can also have avocado and tomato, depending on the taste of each person.

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Christmas celebrations and Christmas dinners in Spain are approaching. If you are thinking of taking one of our Spanish courses in Spain or going to spend these special dates in the country, what better way to mimic the language than to celebrate its Spanish Christmas traditions.

Spain is a very diverse country and has different traditions all over the cities, but what all places do agree on is to celebrate with a Christmas meal.

So, if you are learning Spanish, you are going to spend Christmas in Spain or you just want to know what traditional Spanish food for Christmas are, this is your article!

You can also read this article in Spanish or French.

Spanish food for Christmas

In Spain there are several different celebrations during the Christmas season: Christmas Eve and Christmas; New Year's Eve and New Year. Although, in general, during these meals the dishes are usually repeated, so, in this article we will focus more on Christmas food in Spain.

Christmas Eve is celebrated on December 24 and is a dinner with family and friends as the eve of Christmas. Already on December 25, Christmas, a meal is organized in which typical Spanish Christmas dishes are prepared.

Commonly, in many homes the Christmas Eve dinner is more abundant than the Christmas meal, so many dishes that have not been finished in the evening dinner are reused for the next day's meal.

But let's go to the important issue, you can differentiate several Spanish Christmas dishes very typical these dates:

Starters and appetizers

Appetizers are small starters or light dishes served at the beginning of the meal to whet the appetite. Normally Spanish Christmas dinners begin with these appetizers or starters.

They usually include cold meats, seafood or assorted tapas. Below you will find some of the most popular appetizers in Spain:

Tabla de embutidos. It includes Iberian ham, chorizo, lomo, salchichón and a variety of cheeses. In addition, it is sometimes accompanied with dried fruits such as nuts and served with bread sticks or toasted bread.

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Spanish Christmas meals

Spanish Christmas meals. Learn about the most traditional Spanish food for Christmas. Spanish Christmas appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, dishes and desserts.

Spain Spanish Christmas meals. Learn about the most traditional Spanish food for Christmas. Spanish Christmas appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, dishes and desserts. spanish christmas meals, spanish christmas dishe, spanish food for Christmas, traditional spanish food for Christmas, spanish christmas dessert, spanish christmas dinner Off Marta Díaz

10. Words with accent have specific rules

The Spanish accent or tilde is used to indicate the tonic syllable in a word or to differentiate words that are spelled the same way. Thus, we distinguish two methods to put a tilde on Spanish words:

In Spanish, the accent serves to mark emphasis. For example: lámpara (lamp), rápido (fast), canción (song), camión (truck).

While the diacritical tilde is used to differentiate words that are spelled the same:

• tú (pronoun) and tu (possessive)
• sí (affirmation) and si (conditional)
• él (pronoun) and el (article)
• más (adverb/adjective) and mas (conjunction)

With these 10 Spanish grammar rules, the language becomes more accessible to students, especially if you are a beginner. So don't forget to practice the simplest structures and concepts that are key to rapid improvement in Spanish language.

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7. Adjectives go after the noun

In Spanish, adjectives are generally placed after the noun they describe. This order is different in other languages such as English. For example:

• Un coche rojo (A red car)
• Una camisa amarilla (A yellow shirt)
• La taza rosa (The pink mug)
• El libro viejo (The old book)

But there is an exception in some adjectives, such as “bueno” or “grande”, which can come before in certain contexts. For example: “Un buen día” (a good day) or “Un gran tamaño” (a great size).

8. Pronouns precede the verb (almost always)

There are several types of pronouns in Spanish (personal, reflexive, direct and indirect) that are placed before the verb. For example:

• Me dio el libro (She gave me the book)
• Se levanta tarde (He gets up late)
• Le gusta la pasta (He likes pasta)

In addition, in compound verb forms or with infinitives, pronouns can be attached to the verb. For example:

• Voy a dártelo (I'm going to give it to you)
• Siéntate, por favor (Please sit down)
• ¿Puedes coserme el pantalón? (Can you sew my pants?)

9. Adverbs are very flexible

The placement of adverbs is very versatile, and they can be used in different positions within the same sentence. Some Spanish adverbs are: cerca (near), aquí (here), allí (there), rápidamente (quickly), etc.

For example:

• María come rápidamente una manzana
• Rápidamente, María come una manzana
• María come una manzana rápidamente

All these forms are correct and convey the same idea, regardless of where the adverb is placed.

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4. Negative sentences in Spanish are easy and simple

In Spanish, to turn an affirmative sentence into a negative one, you simply need to add the word no to it. You can add this particle before the verb or, if it is a question, add it at the beginning of the question.

Some examples:

• Juan estudia español -> Juan no estudia español -> (Juan studies Spanish/Juan doesn’t study Spanish)
• ¿Sabes cómo llegar al metro? -> No sé cómo llegar al metro (Do you know how to get to the subway? / No, I don't know how to get to the subway)
• Mi tía sabe hablar tres idiomas -> Mi tía no sabe hablar tres idiomas (My aunt can speak three languages / My aunt can't speak three languages)
• ¿Quieres pescado para cenar? -> No quiero pescado para cenar (Do you want fish for dinner? / I don't want fish for dinner)

5. Verbs are conjugated according to person, tense and mood

A peculiarity of Spanish and one of the most complex aspects is the conjugation of verbs. Because in Spanish verbs change form according to the person performing the action, the time in which it occurs (present, past, future) and the mood (indicative, subjunctive, imperative).

 Examples of various verb tenses in Spanish:

• “Presente” indicative: Yo hablo. Tú hablas. Él/Ella habla. Nosotros/as hablamos. Vosotros/as habláis. Ellos/as hablan.
• “Pretérito pluscuamperfecto” indicative: Yo había cantado. Tú habías cantado. Él/Ella había cantado. Nosotros habíamos cantado. Vosotros habíais cantado. Ellos habían cantado.
• “Presente” subjunctive: Yo coma. Tú comas. Él/Ella coma. Nosotros comamos. Vosotros comáis. Ellos coman.
• “Futuro simple” subjunctive: Yo saliere. Tú salieres. Él/Ella saliere. Nosotros saliéremos. Vosotros saliereis. Ellos salieren.

6. Personal pronouns are optional

Personal pronouns (yo, tú, él/ella, nosotros/as, vosotros/as and ellos/as) are often optional in Spanish. This is because the conjugation of the verb already indicates the person.

For example:

• Yo estudio español -> Estudio español (I study Spanish)
• Nosotros comemos paella los domingos -> Comemos paella los domingos (We eat paella on Sundays)
• Ellos salen de fiesta el viernes -> Salen de fiesta el viernes (They go out to party on Friday)

In the examples above, both forms are correct, with or without personal pronouns and the meaning is the same, it does not vary. Depending on the context and the conversation, personal pronouns can be omitted.

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