Christmas vocabulary in Spanish. Learn it in a fun way

today you will learn a lot Christmas vocabulary in Spanish. ????

Believe me, after reading this article you will want to put the typical Christmas decorations and to perform each of the celebrations What am I going to explain to you? 

Pay attention to all christmas vocabulary that we are going to see because at the end of the article there is two activities for you to practice.

¡Empezamos! 😊

Holidays and important dates at Christmas

We started this list of christmas words talking about the parties and the key dates of Christmas in Spain. 

Don't miss any!

The Draw of Lotería de Navidad

El Christmas Lottery Draw the place 22 of December. 

Did you buy your ticket? 

If you get the premior higher, El Gordo, you will win four million euros! 😮

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is celebrated on the night of 24st of December. 

It is one of my favorite Christmas dates because it marks the first family meeting with a great dinner.

The typical food in this dinner is lamb and shellfish.

Christmas Day

The next day, 25st of Decemberfinally arrives Christmas... la Navidad.

It has always given me the feeling that people go out of their way to be nicer on this day.

Will it be for him? Christmas spirit?

If you want to learn Spanish and you like Christmas, you can see christmas movies in spanish. There is a lot!

Fools day

El 28st of December you may suffer some little joke of a relative or friend, because it is the Day of the Holy Innocents. 

The funniest people love it fool around to her innocent friends. 

Will you be one of those who make the jokes or the ones who receive them?

New Year's Eve or New Year's Eve

La Nochevieja / New Years Eve It is the day of the end of the year, in the 31st of December.

Again, the families gather to celebrate the last night… How?

Well... eating and drinking delicious food And in large quantities, of course.😁

The most special thing about tonight comes right at the end, with the moment of the 12 grapes. I'll talk to you about this later.

New Year's Day

New Year New Life.

Is already 1th of January and the people begin their new projects for the coming year: 

"This time I will sign up for the gym and lose weight."

"I'm going to try to be more friendly and social with people."

"I'm going to sign up for those dance classes I've always wanted to learn."

"I'm going to sign up for those Spanish classes to improve or learn Spanish."

And you? whatWhat plans do you have for next year? 2023?

King's Night

We arrive at most characteristic party Christmas in Spain: King's Night.

it's the day 5th of January and is celebrated with parade of the three Magi.

The day of the Magic Kings

The 6th of January, children receive gifts that Wise Men they had left them the night before.

In Spain it is the Three Wise Men who give the gifts and not Papai Noel, although some children are lucky and receive gifts from both. 😄

You know how are they called the three wise men?

The names of the wise men are Gaspar, Melchor and Baltasar.

Christmas Decorations

Now that you know what are the Important days of Christmas in Spain, you will have to have your house well decorated for visits, right?

If you want to decorate your house properly on these dates, write down these words about christmas and decorative objects vocabulary.

Christmas tree  

El Christmas tree It is the most important decorative object. And there is nothing as nice as having a fir tree very green inside the room.

It gives a Magic touch home, right?

If you want to practice Spanish with friends, I can think of a game that you can do.

Write little pieces of paper on the christmas tree with spanish words without them seeing each other, and then each one has to define one of those words for the rest to guess.

If a Christmas tree can do many things!

Christmas tree balls

But the Christmas tree would not be so magical if it were not accompanied by the Christmas balls. 

You already know that these balls can be of various colors: red, yellow, blue, green...

They can also be placed separate from the tree to decorate other parts of the house.

the tinsel

El tinsel are those color tapes that can be put around the tree.

Many people put it around their neck as a scarf.

Few objects manage to give a more festive look than the tinsel

Tree ornaments

you can put more trimmings to the tree to make it look better: dried pineapples, dolls, socks, woolen stars, flowers...

 Be creative and create a Christmas tree make it the envy of your friends when they see it.

The Star of Bethlehem

In Spanish homes, during Christmas you cannot miss nativity scene.

There are all types: large, small, classic, modern...

However, la Belen star es un indispensable element which should be in all nativity scenes, as it was the star that guided people to the place where Jesus was born.

the nativity scene

El christmas nativity scene is a representation of the birth of Jesus with sculptures little. It is usually put on a table in the living room of the house.

Do you like crafts? 

Prove it by creating a nativity scene full of details.

The Angel

Did you know that the Star of Bethlehem used to be an angel?

El Christmas angel he became this Star so that people would know where Jesus was born.

It can be represented as a figurehead and hang it on the Christmas tree.

the christmas wreath

the christmas wreath It is an object that is used during the weeks of the Advent, time of preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ.

The duration of Advent is usually 22 to 28 days.

The usual place to hang the crown is on the front door of the house.

The holly

The holly It is a plant that grows about berries round and very small.

At Christmas, these fruits represent the blood of Christ and the leaves symbolize the crown of thorns.

the christmas boot

La Christmas boot it hangs in the Good night's day in the tree so that Papai Noel I filled her with gifts.

If you want a lot of gifts, you better buy a big boot. 😁

christmas candles

christmas candles use religious symbolism: represent the four weeks of Advent.

A candle is lit every Sunday and each one has a specific color.

Although the truth is that many people usually put more than four candles with many colors as a decorative element.

christmas lights

Another object that serves to give a evocative light are Christmas lights. 

If we put the lights on the Christmas tree, the effect will be even more magical.

The bells

The bells they sound in churches when an important event happens.

On Christmas day, they ring for the birth of Jesus.

You can put small bells that decorate the house or the Christmas tree.

christmas characters

We continue with more Christmas related words.

Now it's time to talk about the most representative characters of Christmas, which are not few.

Papai Noel 

Papai Noel He is the king of Christmas and the character that all children love. ????

In other countries it is called Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas.

Here is the traditional red clothes and white beard.

Bring gifts on Christmas Eve and the children open them at Christmas.

Reindeer

And how does Santa Claus come from the arctic pole?

He does it by flying through the sky with his reindeer magical. (I.e.

The three wise men 

In Spain, the Wise Men they are even more adored than Santa Claus.

They come on January 5 with their wizard robes and its crowns, willing to deliver gifts to children who they have behaved well.

The camels

The Three Wise Men come to Spain on the backs of their camels.

On the night of january 5, the children leave containers with water for the camels to drink if they are thirsty. (I.e.

The pages of the Magi

The pages are helpers of the Magi.

Did you think that they would be able to distribute gifts to all the children of Spain in a single night without help?

The pages of the Magi have a very important job, although the poor never get the recognition.

The elves from santa claus

The Elves They are not just characters The Lord of the rings or Harry Potter.

They are also the Santa's helpers.

The Snowman

How lucky are those who live in cities or towns where it snows!

If they pile up a mountain of snow and stick the scarf, hat, and carrot on your nose, you already have your Snowman. ⛄

The virgin mary

Another fundamental character in the Christian religioniana is the Virgin Mary, the Mother of jesus of Nazareth.

San Jose

we can't forget San Jose, husband of Maria and putative father of Jesus.

the ox

El ox was one of the animals that witnessed the birth of Jesus in the manger. (I.e.

His mission was to warm with his breath the crib of jesus.

The mule

The other important animal is the mule. 

It represents the humblest animal of the creation of living beings.

The pastors

The pastors They are the people who raise, guide and care for the livestock. 

They were the first to go to see Jesus of Nazareth when he was born in the manger in Bethlehem.

Typical Christmas foods and sweets

We talk about food and typical Christmas sweets?

I know you're looking forward to it. 😋

The nougat

In Spain we eat a lot confectionery during Christmas. The most typical is the nougat.

The original nougat is made with a sweet dough cooked with honey or sugar to which are added almonds. You can also have egg white.

los polvorones

If you don't like the hardness of the nougat, you can try the shortbread, that are much more soft, but also cloying.

They are made of flour, butter, sugar and almond. Although there are also many other flavors such as chocolate, wine, lemon...

gingerbread cookies

The funniest of these ginger flavored cookies It is the appearance of a little person that they usually give them.  

Some people even decorate them with clothes or accessories.

Creativity to power!

The kings cake 

The kings cake It is the typical sweet of Three Kings Day, on January 6.

This is a bollo filled mainly with truffle or cream 

It also includes candied fruit.

Inside there are two surprises: the broad bean (bad luck ☹) and the figure of the king (gives good luck 😊)

The 12 grapes

Before I mentioned the 12 New Year's Eve grapes. ????

They must be taken in the last 12 seconds of the year to have good luck in the prosperous New Year.

Be careful and don't choke!

I recommend buying peeled grapes to make it easier to eat quickly.

The cava

The cava It is a sparkling wine that is widely used at Christmas parties to toast with the family or friends during and after the most important meals or dinners. (I.e.

Christmas classics

How much Christmas vocabulary in Spanish you are learning with this article! 😊

I'm sure you've learned more by now. 100 christmas words, at least.

Well, in addition to everything seen, we have this last section called christmas classics. 

Let's get to know more essential vocabulary which we have not included before.

The Christmas songs

The traditional christmas songs called Christmas carols: 'Silent Night', 'The Drummer', 'Bells of Bethlehem'… there are many.

If you are interested in this topic, we have a very recent article on the 20 best Christmas carols in Spanish.

The invisible friend

The Christmas spirit makes people feel more generous and want to Giving gifts away among his acquaintances.

To do this, a good way is to play invisible friend.

Each person in a group writes their name on a piece of paper, then all the papers are collected. Randomly, by picking up one of the pieces of paper with the name, each participant will get the name of a classmate and they will have to give them something.

In this way, everyone gives a gift and everyone receives a gift.

Christmas shopping

The Christmas shopping They are possibly the main attraction of Christmas for many people. 

In January they begin The sales and people take the opportunity to go to the shopping malls y acquire products at a good price.

The Christmas gifts

What would Christmas be without them? gifts?

Everyone (or almost everyone) loves to receive a gift.

There is something magical in that feeling of uncertainty when someone gives you a wrapped package and you don't know what's inside.

"What will it be?" 😄

The letter to the Three Wise Men and Santa Claus

In order for children to receive gifts from the Three Kings or from Santa Claus, they must meet two requirements:

• Have been good all year.
• Write the letter to the Magi or Papai Noel.

In the letter they must argue why they deserve the gifts they ask for.

Christmas postcards

Shipping Christmas postcards to relatives or friends may be out of use in recent years.

However, I'm sure there are still some romantics who like to do it, especially when they can't spend Christmas with their families.

Send postcards in the Christmas season can be a nice way to show appreciation to your loved ones.

coal for bad children

Good children receive gifts.

And what about the bad kids?

These receive carbon. 

Here no one gets a gift if they don't earn it.

The consolation is that at least the coal has sugar and can be eaten. 😅

The Christmas jumper

Put a christmas jumper can be a great way to show your love for christmas.

When I see people in these red jerseys, with reindeer and patterned trees or others christmas related imagesThey make me want to hug them.

I can't think of anything else cozyThey are also very warm.

interactive Christmas activities

Now you know all the necessary vocabulary about Christmas. I hope it helps. 😊

If you want to study more things related to Christmas and learn Spanish, I recommend that you come to Hispania, escuela de español.

We are in Valencia, here you can have classes in our face-to-face Spanish courses with expert teachers and spend Christmas with new friends.

If you prefer to spend Christmas in your country, but you also want to learn Spanish, we have online Spanish courses designed for you.😉

And now, let's go with activities to practice Christmas vocabulary!

Activity 1:

In this interactive christmas activity You must turn the cards and find the pair of the image with its word. You have to practice your memory to be able to do it well. ????