Getting into the Christmas spirit…

One of the many squares of Jerez de la Frontera

When you move abroad you find yourself missing out on many of the special Christmas traditions of your home country. In Denmark; Christmas time is also the time of darkness, cold weather, snow and staying indoor. Therefore it can be a bit difficult to get into Christmas spirit living here in Southern Spain. This year even more; we still have temperatures between 16-22 degrees, blue sky and the sun is shining bright. Is Santa going to wear shorts this year? But we do our best and have keep the traditions that suit us the most: We bake Christmas cookies, decorate the Christmas tree, watch the yearly Danish Christmas television serie(one episode every evening until 24th of December) and the kids get a small gift every Sunday of Advent.
But we have also adopted some Spanish traditions. Celebrating the Three Kings on 6th of January, visiting nearby villages when they “dress up” as ancient Bethlehem. And from this year adding one more: ZAMBOMBA! A zambomba is an instrument, made out of a clay pot, fabric and a stick, that is used to keep the rythem while hords of people sing Christmas carols.

Zambomba is also the decription of the sing-a-longs you can experience in Spain, and especially in Jerez de la Frontera during December. If you vist the town during the weekend you can’t avoid bumping into the Zambomba choirs on every corner of the bigger squares (Plazas). Young and old join in on the singing, clapping and even flamenco dancing. It is joyful and you can’t help yourself joining the party.

Visit Jerez de la Frontera and zambomba your way into the spirit of Christmas.