Spain is a beautiful country rich in history and traditions. Should you get a hankering to see this for yourself, the following information may be helpful in planning that trip before hopping into a plane, train or automobile.

The Flamenco

Flamenco, the dance most closely associated with Spain, originated in Andalusia in southern Spain. You are most likely to witness it being performed there, rather than in northern Spain. When Flamenco first came into being, it was an unaccompanied song. Different influences on the dance meant that guitar playing, hand clapping and the well-known foot stomping were added later as the dance evolved.

Flamenco is a very passionate dance. It is well worth going to see if it is performed properly. Unfortunately, a lot of performances that are aimed at the tourist market do not catch the full beauty and passion of the dance.

It is thought that the dance is based on a bullfight, with the woman being the bull and the man the matador, trying to tame her and bend her to his will. This is probably based on an exotic whim, as the history of the dance is extremely vague.

Siesta

If you are a person who firmly believes in 'why stand when you can sit' and 'why sit when you can lie down', the siesta will, quite possibly, be your favourite Spanish custom.

The word siesta is from the Latin word Hora Sexta meaning the sixth hour. A siesta is a short afternoon nap generally taken after 2 p.m., following lunch, the main meal of the day for most Spaniards. The siesta itself is usually about two hours long. Most people take a short nap of about thirty minutes during this time.

Fiesta

This fiesta is the big celebration, and not the affordable car manufactured by Ford. All villages and towns in Spain will have a fiesta at some point. These may be national, regional or just local. In other words, not all fiestas will generate a national holiday. ¹ If you get a chance to go to a fiesta, then go. It is a fun, friendly, atmosphere that should not be missed.

Because religion is very important in Spain, every town and most villages have thier own patron saint to which they pay homage and will throw what we would consider a huge party on their saint's day. For example, Fiesta de San Isidro is celebrated in Madrid on 15, May, and Seville celebrates Corpus Christi in late May or early June.

One saint's fiesta you may have heard of is 'The running of the Bulls', in Pamplona. It is to honour San Fermin. It is staged every year from the 7 to the 14 July. People come from all over the world to take part in this fiesta. Be warned, it is very dangerous. On 7 July, everyone will line up at the starting point and sing a song to the saint.

A San Fermín pedimos, por ser nuestro patrón, nos guíe en el encierro dándonos su bendición. Translation: We ask San Fermín, as our Patron, to guide us

through the Bull Run and give us his blessing.

First, some Fighting Bulls are released. Then, the people ahead of the bulls are allowed to start running. The object is for them to run in front of the bulls until they reach the bullring which is situated about half a mile down the narrow street. The participants run the risk of being gored by bull horns and, just to make things more interesting, the people taking part traditionally wear all white with some sort of red scarf either wrapped around the neck or waist.

Another fiesta that is a bit safer is La Tomatina, celebrated in the town of Buñol. It is a week-long celebration that involves many a tomato being hurled at whoever might find themselves within range.

This fiesta was started in the 1940's. It is unknown whether the tomatoes were being thrown at officials or just passers-by. After seeing how much fun the hurlers were having, more people joined the festivities. This is a messy but very enjoyable celebration in which to participate.

Dia De San Anton is The Day of Saint Anthony celebrated on the 17 January. Saint Anthony is the patron saint of four footed beasts. On this day Farmers and villagers will dress up their animals with flowers and bells and take them to a church dedicated to this saint, where the priest will bless the animals against sickness and accidents over the coming year.

Semana Santa is a week-long celebration in Spain and most Hispanic countries, celebrating the events of Easter Week. The celebration is broken down into five key days:

• 
  Palm Sunday, when Jesus first arrived in Jerusalem
• Holy Thursday, the day of the Last Supper
• Good Friday, the crucifixion of Christ
• Holy Saturday, when Mary went to visit Jesus at the site of his crucifixion
• Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of Christ

It involves processions showing the various stages of The Passion of Christ up until The Resurrection. From Thursday midnight to Friday morning is what is known as The Madrugada. During this time the processions continue all night long.

Christmas in Spain

There are three major dates that are celebrated around Christmas in Spain. The first is Christmas Eve. Traditionally, the whole family will get together for a meal. The Children will receive a small gift and the adults will exchange gifts. Most families will go to mass at midnight. Although, some stay at home and raise a drink to the birth of Christ.

Christmas day is a fiesta day. All the shops and banks are closed. This is the sort of day when everyone will spend time with their family in quiet celebration.

Los Reyes, Three Kings Day, celebrates the arrival of the three kings in Bethlehem. They do not have Father Christmas in Spain. Instead, the three kings deliver the presents. Therefore, this is the day that the children receive their gifts. They even write to the three kings requesting what presents they would like to receive. There is usually a big procession on the night of the 5th January, in which floats will travel through the town throwing out sweets and goodies to the children.

New Year's Eve will see most towns celebrating with street parties. It is traditional to wear red underwear that has been bought ² by someone else. At midnight, it is a tradition to eat 12 grapes; one for each stroke of the clock, to bring luck for the new year. This is, apparently, quite hard to do. So, some people will buy seedless grapes, which they will peel, beforehand. Tins containing 12 seedless and peeled grapes are available for purchase, if you'd rather not go to the trouble of peeling grapes yourself.

Bullfighting

The first bull fight took place as a celebration for the crowning of King Alfonso VIII, which is dated back to 711A.D.

At first, only the aristocracy took part and the fights were performed on horseback. However, King Felipe V did not think that the aristocracy taking part in such a sport was a good example to the general public ³. Therefore, he banned the aristocracy from taking part⁴.

All was not lost though, as the general public quite liked the sport and adopted it as their own. Since the masses could not afford horses, the sport was adapted so that the bulls had to be dodged on foot.

It is not a sport for everyone. The bull is usually weakened by having spears strategically stuck into the back of the neck area by the picadors to make the bull bleed. This lasts for about 10 minutes. Later, the Matador performs his dance, called the faena, with the bull. This requires a lot of skill. The matador uses a muleta, which is a thick piece of cloth draped over a sword, to get the bull to charge at him. Quickly and artfully he will attempt to sidestep the bull and stay away from its dangerous horns. As explained earlier, this is not a sport for the faint of heart. The show will usually end with the death of the bull, although on some occasions an exceptionally brave bull will be spared.

Weddings

Before the wedding and making their vows the groom will present his bride with 13 gold coins representing Christ and his 12 apostles. The bride will then carry these in a little bag to the wedding ceremony.

It was traditional for the bride to wear a black silk dress with a lace veil. Nowadays though, the bride tends to go for the popular white bridal gown. The groom will wear a shirt that has been especially embroidered by his future wife. Not only will the bride be accompanied down the aisle by her father, the groom will also be accompanied by his mother.

During the ceremony, you might see El Lazo, the lasso. This is a beautiful crucifix that is wrapped around the wrists of the couple. The couple will wear this throughout the ceremony.

It represents their love and how it binds the couple together. After the wedding, the bride keeps El Lazo as a memento of the day.