Foreign residents spending Christmas in Spain will notice it’s a different experience to what they are used to back home. For there are no mince pies, mistletoe or traditional turkeys and even Father Christmas’s role delivering presents is somewhat different.

However, although preparations are already underway in Marbella (the Christmas lights are being put up and council workers are planting thousands of the traditional festive Poinsettia flowers along the main road), it’s not until December 8 that the celebrations begin in earnest. Known as the Immaculate Conception, this is a public holiday and as such is a day for eating, drinking and spending time with the family.   Many Spaniards will also buy a lottery ticket for El Gordo (The Fat One) during December, before gathering around the TV sets on the 22nd to see if they’ve won. Next up on the calendar are Christmas Eve and Day, but this is where things start getting a little different. Known as Noche Buena (the good night), Christmas Eve is when families gather for a sumptuous meal, which is regarded as one of the most important of the year.Although seafood is popular, many will buy a pata de jamon (leg of Iberian ham), which is delicately sliced and eaten over the festive holidays. Sweet toothed Spaniards also eat a traditional candy during Christmas called turrón, a chewy nougat made of toasted sweet almonds. Although Santa visits Spanish children, he tends to leave just one gift, as the main presents are brought by the Three Kings in January. Meanwhile on Christmas Day itself, people tend to go for a walk and have a leisurely lunch. The British contingent reading this article may be interested to know that there are no sales on Boxing Day, as the Spanish are still shopping right up until January 5. The next big night of partying is of course New Year’s Eve, or Noche Vieja. One big difference is that people tend to stay at home eating a(nother) big meal, ahead of packing the streets to bursting point shortly before midnight, where the tradition is to eat 12 grapes, one for each chime of the bell, at midnight. Luckily New Year’s Day is another public holiday that sees most people sleeping off the previous night’s partying. However, it is January 5 that is etched on the mind of Spanish children, as this is when the Three Kings arrived in Bethlehem on horseback. Before going to bed the youngsters leave a pair of shoes out (like Northern Europeans leave a stocking for Santa), a snack for the camels and a nightcap for the Kings. Unfortunately for the kids, they also tend to go back to the school on January 7, meaning they only have one day to play with their presents. This is also the night of the Cabalgata Parade, where the majority of locals in towns like Marbella pack the streets to see the Reyes Magos (Three Wise Men) arrive on a float and throw sweets to the children. The most popular King is Balthazar, who last year was portrayed by former international footballer and Marbella resident Ruud van Nistelrooy, much to the surprise of locals. So keep an eye out this Christmas, as you never know which famous face might be in the parade!