Dec 1

Dec 1 Our Christmas with Alan and Amanda - Part 1

Autumn, BBC Filming Moclin, Casa Alamanda, Christmas, Fiesta, Granada, Local interest, Places to visit, Shopping, Spanish Culture, Travel, Winter

What a year it has been!

From the time that BBC TV’s ‘Amanda and Alan’s Spanish Job’ first aired on 24th January 2025, we have barely stopped for breath. Our rental property, Esperanza 9, has been almost fully booked for the entire year, and we have bookings confirmed well into next year. The house was featured on the programme, so it is understandable that we had so much interest.

We have had a huge number of visitors to Moclín from the UK and elsewhere, and some of these visitors have even bought property in the area, having seen the potential of this beautiful corner of Andalucia. In essence, this is what we hoped would be achieved through our, and the village’s, involvement in the project: highlighting the problems of rural depopulation and attracting inward investment that will, ultimately, provide opportunities for employment.

We charted our Summer (of 2024) with Alan and Amanda elsewhere in our blog, but now we are excited to report that our involvement extended beyond the summer!

As filming was underway early last summer, we were told that there might be a possibility of a Christmas Special, to be filmed once again here in Moclín. We immediately sprang into action, thinking of all the traditions and customs that surround a typical Spanish Christmas. The premise behind the hour-long special was that Alan and Amanda would spend the festive season in their newly restored home and invite friends from the village to enjoy a traditional Christmas feast.

So, what are some of the traditions and customs that we so enjoy at this time of year?

Christmas generally only starts on 1st December; this year, the Christmas lights in Granada were switched on officially on 29th November. The main celebrations are on Christmas Eve (Nochebuena) and then Los Tres Reyes (5th and 6th January). The Three Kings has traditionally always been the time for present giving, but Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are becoming increasingly popular as time to spend with family. Boxing Day doesn’t exist as a holiday here in Spain, which is something of a relief!

There are lots of activities leading up to Christmas and as the A&A Christmas Episode revolves around food, these are some suggestions for traditional fare, events and activities that can contribute towards a special festive season in Andalucia:

Christmas Shopping!

Christmas lights in the cities, towns and villages don’t really get turned on until the very end of November. In Moclín, Christmas officially starts when the Women’s Association deck the main square (and elsewhere) with beautiful decorations made from recycled materials. These decorations are a veritable work of art, and feature steam trains, Father Christmas and his sledge and brightly coloured bells that hang from the square’s trees.

Nevada Shopping, the large mall on the edge of the city of Granada, boasts the tallest Christmas Tree in Europe standing as it does at 55 m.

Granada city centre does Christmas very well, and the lighting displays get better every year. The atmosphere is definitely helped by the fact that, as soon as the sun sets, the temperatures drop to a seasonably low level and there is the ever-present backdrop of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains.

Málaga is famous for the music and light displays that line Calle Larios - very well worth a Christmas Shopping expedition. Read our earlier post about Christmas shopping in Malaga

The Olive Harvest

The area around Moclín produces some of the best Olive Oil in the world and Spain is the world’s largest producer of Olive Oil. Normally, the olive harvest starts in December so the winter months are great if you’d like to have a go at olive-picking using traditional stick-beating methods.

Visit an Olive Oil Mill and enjoy an Olive Oil Tasting. Locally, there are many olive oil producers and goat’s cheese producers happy to give tours, such as the award-winning Queso Sierra Sur in Ermita Nueva https://quesosierrasur.com/

Jamón.

Jamón is a huge part of Christmas and you will see large displays in every supermarket from mid-November onwards. Very few Spanish homes would be without a Jamón over the festive period.

Trevélez is the highest village in the Sierra Nevada and this is where a lot of Jamón is produced. Learn how to carve jamón with a cortador, and buy a jamón for Christmas. We may well be scheduling in a jaunt to buy a jamón as we have family coming for Christmas.

Any trip to Trevélez should be coupled with a visit to neighbouring Pampaneira to buy rugs, do some weaving (https://eltelardemercedes.com/el-taller/) for curtains or doors, or blankets for beds, and buy delicious hand-made chocolates https://abuelailichocolates.com/. Nip slightly further up the mountain to beautiful Capileira for more artesanal products and a really charming atmosphere.

The villages of Pampaneira, Bubión and Capileira have been voted amongst the prettiest villages in Spain, and a traditional winter dish in the Alpujarras is Goat Stew. Some very cosy bars are dotted around these villages, many with open fires for chilly evenings.

Prawns and Seafood

particularly huge prawns, are a staple on any menu for Christmas Eve.

Cava

Tasting at Bodega Calvente: https://bodegascalvente.com. This is our favourite vineyard in Granada and they produce the most delicious sparkling wine. This is the perfect way to start any festive celebrations and you can order for delivery within Andalucia.

3 Onzas. One of several fabulous cocktail bars in Granada, and willing to share a recipe or two if you’d like to recreate some of the unique cocktails at home! 3onzas.com

Chestnuts, Quince and Walnuts.

There is a Chestnut Walk (https://turgranada.es/es/rutas/casta%C3%B1ar-de-aldeire) in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada that we visited with our neighbours a couple of years ago, and we made the same trip again just recently. Lovely autumnal setting and there is a fabulous castle in La Calahorra (https://www.andalucia.org/es/la-calahorra-turismo-cultural-castillo-de-la-calahorra).

Go scrumping for Quince and Walnuts with friends from the village. We did this one year and it was great fun! I then made Quince Jelly (never again) but the villagers make Carne de Membrillo which is similar and very popular with cheeses and cold meats.

A Choral Concert.

We organised a 3 week art festival in and around Moclín a few years ago, and a choir called Magnum Ensemble gave one of the festival’s concerts. They are fabulous, and frequently perform in Granada in the run-up to Christmas. The villages also have boozy tours around the streets singing Christmas carols (Villancicos), accompanied by a quantity of Pacharan or Anis.

El Gordo Lottery

On 22nd December, just in time for the Big Day, Spain’s huge lottery is drawn in a 3 hour TV ceremony broadcast from Madrid. One of the oldest and largest lotteries in the World, El Gordo is less a gamble and more of a cultural event. The winnings, the largest payout of any lottery, can change the fortunes of communities, rather than just individuals,, which is a large part of the lottery’s popularity.

Belenes

A Belén is a Nativity Crib and they are EVERYWHERE throughout the Christmas period; every municipality has their own and the belenes in larger towns are enormous works of art that raise money for charity. In Granada, there are belenes dotted around in corners of the city, including Plaza Bib Rambla, and they depict all the various scenes of the nativity. Invariably, there will be a character somewhere having a pee or squatting for something else, so keep a look out…There is a Belén Museum in Málaga: https://www.museodebelenes.com/

Andrew enjoying visiting the Belen in Granada City.

Skiing!

Father Christmas pays frequent visits to the Sierra Nevada Ski Station (https://sierranevada.es/en/) in the run up to Christmas. The ski season opened on 29th November this year. We have already had a healthy first fall of snow, and we had more snow today so the pistes will all be in good condition. I won’t recount my tale of being cut up by Father Christmas on the slopes one year, and being put off skiing for months! Suffice to say, FC got the sharp edge of my tongue.

Read our earlier blog post about the Sierra Nevada Ski station here

Zambomba.

Very traditional for Christmas, a form of Flamenco using a Zambomba - a ceramic drum with a skin surface and a sort of pumping handle (looks quite rude!). Last year, the municipality had a Zambomba concert in every village and there is a traditional Zambomba Factory near Guadix where you could make your own Zambomba: https://www.ideal.es/navidad-en-granada/zambomberos-granada-resistencia-20221227155201-nt.html

Last year, in Moclín, the square was packed with villagers for the concert and we all got together for a dance with Alan and Amanda. It was a memorable way to start our festive season.