50th anniversary of Dublin’s Spanish Cultural Institute: language as diplomatic tool
Today, the current Instituto Cervantes in Dublin celebrates 50 years since its foundation as the Spanish Cultural Institute on 11...
Read moreThe Three Wise Men’s gifts, a Hispanic tradition with 500 years of history
The identification of the Three Wise Men as “gift givers” par excellence at Christmas in Spain and in most of...
Read morePortugal and France: How our neighbors celebrate the Three Wise Men
The image of the Three Wise Men as the "gift-givers" par excellence of Christmas has been part of the cultural...
Read moreHow Moroccan ambassador used Christmas to save an “unhappy” Spanish soldier’s life
In December 1779, the writer, historian, traveler and plenipotentiary ambassador of Morocco to Spain, Mohamed Ben Otoman Al Meknasi, decided
Read more‘Twelve grapes’ history: between aristocratic snobbery and popular satire
“It is customary in Madrid to eat twelve grapes by giving twelve hours on the clock that separates the year...
Read moreHoly Innocent’s Day: Portuguese Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano’s fake trip to Tenerife
In the early seventies, the Portuguese Embassy in Madrid and the Portuguese Consulate in Tenerife woke up with the unsuspected...
Read moreThe Christmas tree in Spain, a tradition that came in from the cold
As it is common in these cases, the origin of the Christmas tree includes all kinds of legends, from those...
Read moreThe Nativity Scene: a Neapolitan tradition which Carlos III brought to Spain
Tradition says that the Christmas tradition of representing the scenes of the Nativity of Jesus with figures was introduced in...
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