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For the first time, I got to experience the holiday season away from home. I hadn't seen any of my family since September, celebrated Thanksgiving without my family, and didn't go home until right before Christmas. It was difficult being away from home, but it’s great experiencing the holidays in another country.

Thanksgiving

Missing Thanksgiving at home was tough as I realized I had never missed a Thanksgiving with my family. However, getting together with friends on the day is a great way to relieve this possible heartache. Regardless, you can always FaceTime your family when they are gathered together.

I would recommend doing a Friendsgiving on Thanksgiving. It allows you to not miss home too much when you’re doing your own Thanksgiving. You can get a group of people together and have everyone bring some kind of Thanksgiving food for the meal; potluck style. 

Another option is there are several restaurants around Madrid that put on . However, you should make sure you make a reservation early because they fill up very quickly. Some of the places are , , , and many more. Mazal Bagels also provides to-go meals that are for one person, so you and your friends could each get your own to-go meal.

If you are looking to make some classic Thanksgiving dishes, but can’t find the ingredients you need in the Spanish grocery stores, there is a store called where you can find some necessary items. I got pumpkin puree from there to make my mom’s delicious pumpkin dip.

Christmas Season

I went home for Christmas, but there are so many ways to celebrate the holiday in Madrid leading up to it. There are lights all over the city and a plethora of  throughout the city. Some have lots of food, others have cute little booths of possible gift items, and a few even have ice skating rinks for you to rent skates and skate around. All in all, they are fun to go to to get into the holiday spirit. 

Working with young adults allowed me to ask my students all about the classic holiday treats in Spain and what to bring back to my family in the United States. For Christmas I brought back  which I was told is a classic treat they have around the holidays as well as  which are similar to little shortbread cookies but crumblier (and yummier).

I suggest either asking your students or your fellow teachers about some treats you can try or bring back to your family, if you're going home, for the holidays. It is fun to try the classic holiday treats of the culture. 

Día de los Reyes (Day of the Kings)

is a big deal in Spain. My students told me all about the celebration of the Three Kings with the parade, treats, and gifts that happen the night before and the day of. I wasn’t back in time for the parade, but I did come back to Spain on the Day of the Kings (January 6th). Mostly everything was closed as the majority of people were home spending the day with their families and having a big meal of their own. 

According to my students, el Día de los Reyes is more celebrated than Christmas Day. It’s a bigger deal and a bigger celebration for a lot of families in Spain. This of course depends on the family and many families who aren’t originally from Spain (like one of my students from Romania) don’t celebrate Día de los Reyes and only celebrate Christmas. Others told me their families do either a Secret Santa on Christmas or just treats such as candy and chocolate, and then do all the gifts on King’s Day. 

One of the popular treats for King’s Day is el ¸é´Ç²õ³¦Ã³²Ô de Reyes which is a sort of cake filled with cream and topped with sugared fruit and almonds. I got lucky and found a bakery that was selling pieces of  on King’s Day (because the classic size is quite big, especially for just one person). One of the fun things about ¸é´Ç²õ³¦Ã³²Ô is that in every cake there is apparently a king hidden within it as well as a bean. If your piece has the king, you have good luck! If it has the bean, you are the one who has to pay for the ¸é´Ç²õ³¦Ã³²Ô.

I’m not sure how many people, especially bakeries, hide the beans in the cakes anymore, but there is always a king hidden inside. Lo and behold, the piece I got from the bakery had a little king inside! I highly recommend trying the dessert as it was light and delicious.

Holidays Away From Home

It was difficult being away from home around the holidays, but what I was able to experience was unlike anything else. I was so excited with the new adventures I had and the different traditions I was able to be a part of. I’m not sure I would have been able to miss Christmas at home, but I know plenty of people who stayed through the holidays and even though it may have been hard, they had incredible experiences that are once in a lifetime.

Before heading home for Christmas, I even got to visit London and experience Christmas time there as well. They had lights and decorations everywhere; on buildings, in the streets, in pubs, etc. They also had Christmas markets and holiday activities such as a lights bus tour. 

Whether you decide to stick around or head back to your home for the holidays, you should make the most of experiencing the holiday season within a new culture. It will get you out of your comfort zone and, who knows, you might acquire some luck out of trying new things.