There are many National Holidays in Spain. For starters, nearly 96% of Spain's population is Roman Catholic; the rest are Protestant, Muslim or Jewish. Because so many Spaniards are Catholic, Catholic holidays are always celebrated Nationally. It is a celebration of everyone and for everyone. Below are a few examples of the best known Spanish National holidays, of course there are many more but it varies by region.

January 1 - New Year's Day (Año Nuevo)

New Year's Day in Spain, as in many other countries, is a day off. This is where the beginning of the New Year is celebrated and families gather to talk about the past year and their good intentions for the coming year. The night before on Dec. 31, Spaniards eat one grape at each stroke of the clock at midnight. According to tradition, this is said to bring good luck for the coming year.

January 6 - Epiphany (Reyes Magos)

On January 6, Spaniards commemorate the journey of the three Wise Men in search of the son of God. About a week before Christmas when everything is already in the Christmas spirit, children write letters to the three Wise Men expressing their wishes for January 6. Children receive gifts from the "Three Wise Men" on January 6. It is similar to Sinterklaas in the Netherlands.

April 8/9 - Easter (Pascua)

At Easter, Christians celebrate that Jesus rose from the dead. Easter lasts two days, a Sunday (Easter Sunday/1st Easter Day) and a Monday (Easter Monday/2nd Easter Day). The Friday before Easter is called Good Friday to commemorate the death of Jesus. The Sunday before Easter (April 1) is also called Easter Sunday (Domingo Ramos). On this day, the children go to church in their newest clothes where they are given palm branches. With these palm branches, the children walk through the city to commemorate Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. At the end of the day, the children give their palm branches to their grandparents in exchange for candy.

May 17 - Ascension Day (Ascensión)

The fortieth day after Jesus rose from the tomb, Christians celebrate Jesus being transferred to heaven to become the right hand of God. This is a day off in Spain, and many other countries.

May 27/28 - Pentecost (Pentecostés)

On Pentecost, Christians in Spain commemorate the descent of Jesus on his apostles and therefore the birth of the Catholic Church.

August 15 - Assumption of Mary (Asuncion de la Virgen)

On this day people celebrate the ascension of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary did not ascend by herself but was helped by God Himself. This is a national holiday in Spain.

October 12 - Spanish National Holiday (Día de la Hispanidad)

This celebrates the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492. The biggest celebration takes place in Madrid including bullfighting and parades. The whole country is free on this day.

November 1 - All Saints' Day (Todos los Santos)

With All Saints' Day, all the saints of the Roman Catholic Church are honored and commemorated together. In America, this is similar to Halloween.

December 6 - Constitution Day (Día de contitución Española)

Constitution Day, on December 6 in 1978 92% of the population voted for a new constitution. Since then, Spain has had a new constitution and a new Royal House.

December 8 - Mary's Immaculate Conception (Inmaculada Concepción)

On December 8, Mary received an immaculate soul. Mary now had a purifying soul because she gave birth to Jesus Christ. Because of this, she obtained a special status.

December 24/25 - Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) Christmas Day (Día de Navidad)

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. This is a family celebration and everyone has a sumptuous Christmas meal before going to church for midnight Mass. This special midnight mass is also called "La misma del Gallo." Gallo means rooster in Spanish, this is because a rooster announced the life of Jesus Christ.

Often foreigners have doubts or hesitations when they greet or meet someone in Spain. Should they give a kiss on the cheek? Is it appropriate to give hugs? It is very usual to have these kind of questions when you first get to know a country or culture.

Different countries, different traditions

Latin American greetings traditions

Both in Latin America and in Spain greetings are generally handshaking and on informal occasions kissing on the cheek, even among strangers. In Colombia the usual greeting among men is a handshake. Women, however, prefer a verbal greeting or kiss on the cheek. The greeting in Argentina in most cases is a single kiss on the cheek even among men, although it depends on the degree of familiarity. In Mexico, for example, the greeting between two men is limited to a handshake.

Spanish greetings traditions

In Spain, it is advisable to distinguish formal situations from informal ones. The greeting with a kiss is seen among people who have a close or family relationship: between parents and children, close friends etc. Men do not often greet each other with kisses unless they have a family relationship instead they rather shake hands. It's not often give hugs when introduced to someone, this is available for people who maintain a close relationship as friends or family. Between friends, in addition to hugging often accompanies with a pat on the back.

For verbal greeting, “¡Hola!” is used as a valid and neutral greeting almost any occasion yet on formal occasions, it will be more correct to use expressions like “¡Buenos días!”, “¡Buenas tardes!” and “¡Buenas noches!” which also can be used to say goodbye. On informal occasions, there are a variety of expressions like: ¿Qué pasa?, “¡Buenas!”. If you are introduced to someone new, you can say Encantado/a or Mucho gusto. And while saying goodbye generally these expressions are used“¡Hasta luego!” , “¡Nos vemos! or simply" Chao! ".

After a while you get used to both customs and the culture and there is no reason to hesitate to do the right gesture as Spanish people are very welcoming and warm. However, if you are still in doubt, you can wait for the first move and do what the other person does. Bear in mind that best things in life happen at the hellos and goodbyes!

Vocabulary set

Here is a small list of Spanish vocabulary used at greetings and farewells:

Everywhere you go in the world New Year's Eve is typically the biggest night out on the calendar and in Salamanca, a city renowned for the quality of its nightlife, this is no exception. However, it seems a bit odd to ring in a New Year with all the typical fanfare and celebrations in the middle of December, just as students at Salamanca's University do every year.

Even though actual New Year is still more than two weeks away, it is tradition that students from the university and beyond gather in Salamanca on the 15^th of December for one huge fiesta to celebrate before everyone goes home for Christmas. How huge? Try upwards of 30,000 people crammed into the city's spectacular renaissance Plaza Mayor. Just look at the pictures to get an idea of the atmosphere.

Seeing as my time left in Salamanca is now limited to just a few more days, I couldn't possibly miss out on experiencing la Nochevieja Universitaria. Even walking around the city during the day you could notice that the atmosphere was different with large happy groups of students gathering around and watching as a huge stage was being set up on Plaza Mayor. La Nochevieja Universitaria is a renowned event across the whole of Spain and Portugal with lots of universities organising big trips that descend on Salamanca for just one night to then leave, slightly worse for wear the next morning.

By 11pm the Plaza Mayor was already packed with people dancing away to what was quite possibly the best and only techno/electro violin player I will ever see live. Then an hour later it was time for the big countdown. Tradition in Spain dictates that at proper New Year (i.e. December 31^st) you should eat a grape every time the clock chimes at midnight. However, at la Nochevieja Universitaria eating grapes is considered bad luck and sweets are used as a substitute. Consequently, watching the concentration on the faces of 30,000 plus people intent on stuffing their mouths with sweets in order to keep up with the chiming clock was entertaining to watch to say the least.

After the countdown the Plaza gradually empties and people pour into the surrounding bars and clubs for what is undoubtedly one of their busiest nights of the year. As is typical of Spanish nights out, the night doesn't actually end until well into the day after and walking to work there were still people (clearly they are the ones with stamina who know how to pace themselves) outside some clubs and on the streets. A fantastic if slightly bizarre experience, I don't quite know what else to say except...

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Pictures of the new 2011 green and red lighting in Salamanca's world famous Plaza Mayor:

According to a study done by the Coca Cola Institute, Spanish people are among the happiest throughout the world!

Numbers speak for themselves

Although the study doesn’t give definite reasons as to why the Spanish people feel happier than many of their European counterparts it does comment that they enjoy the small things in life and feel valued by their families.

The study also says that the moments in which the Spanish people feel the happiest are during their summer holidays, family meals and also Christmas.

Why are Spaniards so happy?

Spaniards in general are very friendly and enjoy having a good time. Indeed they are renowned for their love to party and celebrate the Spanish fiestas!

Personally, we think that the relaxed pace of life in Spain is probably a big reason why the people seem happier. They don’t rush frantically to complete things but take their time, after all there is always manaña! Though there is also no doubt that the sunshine as well makes people a little more cheery!

Why not come and take a Spanish course in Spain and experience this happiness first hand?!

You may be asking, "What is saffron?"

Saffron is an important spice used in Mediterranean cuisine. It comes from a certain species of flower which bears just three stigmas which are dried and used to season and color food. Think about Spanish paella and its rich beautiful yellow color, you may already be guessing, yes SAFFRON plays an important role in this world famous Spanish dish. Saffron is also the most expensive spice in the world by weight, it is native to Southwest Asia, but is an important product of the La Mancha region in Spain.

The saffron produced in La Mancha is high quality, sold by the thread, and fetches up to 3,000 euros per kilo. It is a beautiful red-gold and produces a rich color when used in cooking. It takes 250,000 saffron flower blooms to make just one kilo of this fragrant spice from the flowers' stigmas which are tiny filaments that collect pollen for the plant.

So what is the catch? Spain is a world famous exporter of saffron, but the numbers just aren't matching up. In 2010, Spain exported 190,000 kilos of saffron, yet according to local data, only 1,500 kilos were harvested in Spain. However, only 0.8% of the "Spanish" saffron harvest sold last year was actually grown in La Mancha.

It looks like there is some labeling problems going on.

It kind of reminds me of the time I searched the supermarket in Seattle in quest of a decent variety of non-peeled seafood (an impossible task I discovered) and scanning the spices for saffron to make my sister paella. I bought the overpriced saffron and bad selection of seafood and embarked on my feat to introduce my family to Spanish cuisine. I remember when I threw in the saffron, I was amazed by the fact that the beautiful yellow color that the saffron should emit just didn't come out. I put in more and more and more saffron, but never quite got that yellow color... Needless to say, my Seattle Paella had nothing to do with my Salamanca Paella :)

According to the farmers union ASAJA, over 90% of the exports are fraudulent. At least according to other countries' exporting standards. The industry is very profitable, earning over 47 million euros last year. However, it is a very expensive crop to grow, which is probably why some of the abnormal tactics have been implemented.

So if Spain doesn't produce all the saffron it exports, where does all this "Made in Spain" saffron come from? It seems the variation in numbers has to do with a loophole in Spanish laws, which does not make it illegal for companies to buy saffron from other countries such as Iran, Morocco and Greece and package it as a Spanish product. It is quite misleading, especially since Spanish saffron is known to be of very high quality.

Iranian saffron is a profitable option for Spanish exporters, their saffron crop is nearly half the price. However, the intensive methods used there to mass produce the product undermine the quality of the saffron. Some Iranian companies have also jumped on board to take advantage of these lax labeling laws by opening up in Spain and labeling their product as "made in Spain".

According to the Industry Ministry, a new regulation is being considered that would require producers to indicate where the saffron was grown. This would be a big improvement in current regulations, bringing Spain up to date with the International Organization of Standardization guidelines. This would, in fact, protect consumers from paying inflated costs to purchase the prestigious Spanish saffron, but it would definitely hurt the exporters whose production cannot satisfy demand.

The imports from other countries are not the only cause of the export vs. local harvest discrepencies. The Independent, a British newspaper, reported recently that 40%-90% of exported Spanish saffron was made up of other parts of the plant, not the sought after stigma. One sample found cardamom sold as saffron, which is actually a different spice.

So how to tell if you have been duped? The first thing you should do is smell your saffron. Does it smell nice or unpleasant? That is your first clue, real saffron should smell pleasant and it should take awhile to dye your food an intense yellow. Another good indicator is, of course, if your saffron bears the official "La Mancha" label.

Fraud has been going on for quite awhile. Although the director of La Mancha Farming and Livestock council acknowledges that fraud is committed, but not in La Mancha. Valencia and Murcia are likely culprits, since they do not actually grow saffron but do export it.

The ASAJA proposes tariffs to try to deter this deceiving tactic which is affecting their reputation. José María Fresneda (ASAJA) assures that their priority is to protect the farmers who do grow high quality saffron, a key ingredient in making paella "to die for".

If you have ever been to Spain, perhaps you know that one of the most popular and traditional activities is to go out for tapas. Tapas, also known as pinchos, are small snack size portions of food that are served in most bars throughout Spain. Normally, tapas are either complimentary or simply cost less when included with a drink purchase.

The word tapa in Spanish literally means “lid” or “cover” and it is thought that the tradition evolved from the practice of covering wine glasses with small plates of bread or cured ham to keep out insects or other impurities.

Tapas mix the concept of eating with socializing and the act is called tapear in Spanish. Bars serve as the logical meeting place and where friends or business acquaintances meet regularly. Tapas are an important business in Spain and are generally the determining factor to whether a bar with succeed or fail.

Most tapas bars do not wait tables and most people enjoy their tapa on foot along the bar’s counter where the different tapas are arranged. It is very common to “ir de tapas” which is the practice of visiting various bars and snacking in each one until you have had your meal. It is also common to dine on raciones, larger portions of any given appetizer, which are usually all shared among the group.

Tapas have become part of the Spanish cultural identity and are offered at reception banquets of high dignitaries known as tapas meetings. Nowadays there are bars that specialize in tapas which as developed into a phenomenon known as miniature cuisine. Gourmet chefs, such as Ferran Adrià, have also incorporated tapas as starters into their fine Spanish cuisine menus.

The type and variety of tapas that you will find in Spain depend greatly on the region and the cuisine of the area. There is no defining characteristic as to how large or small a tapa will be, although the majority of them are about four bites. Additionally, there are many different categories of tapas including cold or hot tapas, skewered tapas, small hot or cold sandwiches called montaditos, tapas of traditional dishes served in small clay pots or simply olives or cheese accompanied by bread.

Remember, tapas come in just about any form that you can imagine depending on the bar and the region, but here is a selection of some typical tapas:

Typical Tapas:

Tortilla Española: Spanish omelets made of potatoes, onions and eggs.

Ensalada Rusa: Russian salad made of boiled potatoes, tuna, tomatoes, peas and carrots with mayonnaise.

San Jacobos: Ham and cheese fried in bread crumbs

Croquetas: Breaded and fried béchamel with ham, fish or chicken.

Jamón: Spanish ham served in a variety of different ways: baked, grilled, cured, smoked, etc.

Calamares: fried calamari rings.

Pulpo: Octopus boiled and often served with potatoes and paprika or mixed in a variety of salads.

Patatas bravas: fried potatoes with a mayonnaise and garlic sauce

Sardinas: fried sardines

Pincho moruno: spicy pork skewer

Montaditos: small hot or cold sandwiches

Sepia: grilled cuttlefish

Panceta: A grilled pork cut similar to bacon normally served as a montadito when eaten as a tapa.

Chorizo: Spanish sausage normally served as a montadito when eaten as a tapa.

Paella, gazpacho, and other traditional dishes are also often served as tapas.

Tapas Vocabulary:

Tapeo: the act of eating tapas

Ir de tapas: going out for tapas

Cenar de tapas: to have tapas for dinner.

Picar: to snack, to pick at things

Picoteo: to go for snacks

Ración: larger portion of a tapa

Tapa/Pincho/Pintxos: Different words all referring to the small appetizers served in Spain. Pinchos is mainly used in Northern Spain and pintxos is Euskera, a language used in the Basque region.

Montaditos: small “bocadillos” served hot or cold usually consisting of very few ingredients.

Bocadillo/Bocata: Spanish “sub” sandwiches made with baguette bread.

Plancha: grill. “a la plancha” means grilled.