But every culture has its specific traditions when it comes to greet the New Year and for Spanish people this moving instant frequently turns into a funny or even dangerous moment.
In Spain, apart from welcoming the New Year by filling the sky with colorful fireworks and all sort of noisy bangers, the tradition dictates that on Nochevieja (Nočevieha, as it would sound in slovene language)or Fin de Año, we follow an exciting countdown which takes place on the top of the clock of the Casa de Correos building (Pošta), in Puerta del Sol in Madrid. After having a delicious family dinner in which all kind of seafood like shrimps, mussels, prawns or lobster must be served, this popular and juicy tradition consists of eating twelve white table grapes - one on each chime of the bell, called Campanadas. This is done either by squeezing in the middle of the thrilled crowd at Puerta del Sol in person or by following the countdown live on TV at home. Its origin dates back to 1909, when it served as a way to solve the problem of grape production surplus that they had had in Alicante, a city located in the south of the Valencian Community.
My memory is filled with hilarious family images from Fin de Año: my brothers, José and Ramón; their wives Dalila and Montse; three sisters, Merche, Rosa and Viki; their husbands, Ugi and Pedro; my mother, nephews and nieces, David, Alberto, Paula, Andrea, Alba, Patricia and me, with full mouth, trying to swallow every grape at the right time when, very close to the end, while we were staring at each other with the strong believe that this year we will succeed, my sister Rosa, not being able to hold on any longer, disturbed the concentration that such a thing requires and exploded in a weird mixture of giggling and tears. Her contagious laughter attacked us and the battle against the grapes ended up being lost once again. Fortunately, that time nobody coughed or choked and surprisingly, my mother was again the only successful one, eating each grape at time. I guess nothing is hard anymore after you have given birth to six children and raised them alone.
It is said that you will have good luck in the coming year if you manage to eat these twelve grapes on time. Just to be sure, my sisters and I also wear new red underwear, which is believed to have the same effect and on the top of all is also sexy. These extremely popular traditions transform Nochevieja into a very special night and after the Campanadas de la Puerta del Sol, we toast with cava (sparkling wine), champagne or cider for the youngsters. Later, we get ready to go to party at pubs or discos, which need to be reserved several weeks in advance. Once there, you are given party supplies like confetti, balloons, party hats …which is called cotillón.
We have left behind 2011 - a year that brought a lot of shocking events to my region, Murcia, like the earthquake in Lorca on May 11th, which caused nine deaths and more than three hundred people injured, not to mention the substantial material damage. Human existence is as fragile as the thin glass we toast with, so what really appreciate are these priceless moments you can share with the ones you love the most. I am grateful that my friends and family are doing fine and also because after struggling hard I could achieve part of my goals, as coming to Kranj to teach in a public school, where I was glad to meet such a great co-workers and pupils. 2011 was plenty of pleasant personal surprises, like having the chance to meet Vlado Kreslin, which was an experience I will never forget. For me, Fin de Año will take place in beautiful Ljubljana, which just two days ago gave me a snowy welcome after coming back from a non-typical Christmas time (sunny and 22degrees) that I spent with my family. I could not bring any sun to Slovenia but I brought with me the grapes and the new, red underwear… Vsem bralcem želim srečno novo leto 2012!!
MARIA ANGELES SANCHEZ
