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México
https://youtu.be/VkBzr9MnHQo

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Educational Videos for Students (Cartoons on Bullying, Leadership & More)

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What is Las Posadas? Christmas Around the World: Las Posadas en Mexico Cartoon

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Learn about the $3billion lottery! The biggest lottery in the world is held every year in Spain at Christmas time, and it's not like any other lottery you've ever seen. Subscribe for more: http://bit.ly/YgASHt I'm on Twitter! http://www.twitter.com/tom_bacon

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Every year at Christmas, Spaniards go lottery mad, queuing for hours to buy tickets for the famous Christmas lottery and this year it is bigger than ever.

The number of tickets on sale has risen by 5 million to 170 million meaning the 2017 prize money will total €2.38 billion, with the top individual prize, known as El Gordo (the Fat One), being €4 million.

2014's winning number - "El Gordo". Photo: AFP

With the odds of winning at least something put at one in six, no wonder the Christmas lottery has a whole nation gripped. According to the 2015 stats, some 73.1 percent of the 34 million Spanish residents aged between 18 and 75 play the Spanish Christmas lottery.

Spain's state lottery estimates that in 2017 each Spaniard will spend, on average, €66.16 on Christmas lottery tickets.

History

El Gordo is a Spanish institution and the second oldest lottery in the world. The first Christmas lottery took place on 22nd December 1812 in Cádiz and the event has been taking place on the same day every year since.

Behind the counter is Doña Manolita, owner of one of the most famous lottery shops in Spain.

Not even the Spanish Civil War could stop the Christmas lottery, which moved to Valencia when the Republican government had to relocate their capital from Madrid.

After the war, the lottery moved back to Madrid and continued under the regime of the dictator Francisco Franco.

How it works

Because so many people in Spain take part in El Gordo, the ticketing system is complicated.

Unlike in the UK, for example, you don't go into a newsagent and shade in the numbers you want on your lottery card. Instead, lottery shops have certain numbers available.

This is why the big winners of the Christmas Lottery are usually from the same area: many people have bought tickets from the same shop which holds all the winning tickets.

This assigning of numbers to certain shops means if you want to 'play' a particular number, you might have to travel quite a way - or buy your tickets online.

It's also possible to track down where to buy your preferred number using online search tools like this one from El País.

Photo: The queue for lottery tickets from Doña Manolita lottery shop, Madrid. Photo: Sara Houlison.

In terms of prizes, because so many people take part, numbers are repeated up to 165 times. That means if you do win El Gordo, you will be sharing your prize with at least 164 others. This explains why the top individual prize in the biggest lottery in the world comes in at a 'mere' €4 million.

One ticket (billete) costs a whopping €200, but many people choose to buy a tenth of a ticket (un décimo) for €20. Even smaller portions of tickets are sold: it is common for businesses to buy a ticket then sell small portions, or 'participaciones', of that ticket to their patrons for €1.

The advert

Every year the Christmas lottery releases a suitably schmaltzy advert. But this year's ad was created by Spanish film director Alejandro Amenábar , who produced a 20-minute short film charting a love story beween an alien woman and a Madrileño man who meet in line outside a lottery shop.

The night itself

Every 22nd December the streets of Spain are silent as everyone huddles round their televisions to watch the El Gordo lottery draw, an affair which can take over three hours.

The balls are drawn in a unique way befitting the unique lottery tradition, while the numbers are sung by the pupils of Madrid's San Ildefonso school.

The school was originally a home for orphans and the tradition of the winners of El Gordo donating a portion of their winnings to San Ildefonso dates from this time.

The balls were originally only drawn by boys, with the first girl taking part in the big draw singalong in 1984. Audience members at the live draw, as well as viewers watching from home, are known to dress up in lottery-themed clothing and hats.

On the stage itself are two spherical vessels, one containing balls embossed with the numbers found on the lottery tickets and the other featuring the associated prizes in euros.

"Ball number 20.456 gets €20,000!" they might sing. This goes on, the tension rising until, at some point in the live broadcast, the €4-million ball is drawn making the numbered ball drawn alongside it El Gordo.

Pupils from San Ildefonso school sing the lottery numbers on December 22nd. Photo: AFP

The winners

In 2011 the tiny Spanish village of Sodeto famously won El Gordo, with all but one of its 250 inhabitants having bought a lottery ticket. The unlucky loser was a Greek resident who lived on the edge of town and failed to buy a ticket because he did not realize just how big the Christmas lottery was.

The winners each claimed a share of €120 million, with people collecting sums ranging from €100,000 to €1 million each.

This was the first time in El Gordo's 200 year history that one entire village had won the prize, but it is not uncommon for many people in the same location to all win at the same time, given lottery shops are often assigned the full complement of a given number.

The 2014 'El Gordo' winning lottery number. Photo: José Jordan/AFP

The controversy

Crisis-hit Spain taxed the lottery for the first time in 2013, with the Spanish government hitting the headlines for the 20 percent tax imposed on prizes over €2,500 in the much-loved lottery.

By Jessica Jones / The Local

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The ultimate guide to 'El Gordo' - Spain's fat Christmas lottery

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If you're puzzled by all the long queues on streets around Spain in the lead-up to Christmas, then wonder no more. Welcome to Spain's unique 'El Gordo' (the Fat one) lottery, the richest in the world.

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A CAKE MADE FOR A KING * Three Kings Day Celebration Cake!

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While many other countries have packed up their Christmas seasonal experiences, we here in Spain are still celebrating into January 6th with the Epiphany and the coming of the Three Kings. During this time, it is traditional to indulge yourself with a freshly baked circular cake stuffed full of delicious cream and topped with candied fruit and coconut.

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Caga Tió is a particular Catalan Christmas tradition. It's about a log that poops presents on December 24th. I've been asked a lot of times how does Caga Tió...

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Eating grapes on New Year's Eve, traditions in Spain

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Países hispanohablantes

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The Three Wise Men - Three Kings Day in Spain - don Quijote

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The Three Wise Men. Read more about the three kings - Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar and the Spanish Christmas traditions.

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Países hispanohablantes

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Spanish Festivals and Events | Collection of the best events in Spain

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There are so many regional and national holidays that there is a festival or fiesta being celebrated somewhere in Spain every month of every year.

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España y Países hispanohablantes
https://youtu.be/tnixrc5LQ3k

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Those of you who have been lucky enough to celebrate New Year's Eve here in Spain will be familiar with the tradition of eating 12 'lucky'grapes as the clock strikes midnight. If you haven't the faintest idea what we are talking about, be sure to read on as we explain where this bizarre tradition originated and what it actually entails.

Although many believe the tradition of eating the 12 lucky grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve originated in 1909 due to a bumper crop of white grapes in the Almeria, Murcia and Alicante regions, it appears that this might not be entirely correct.

Yes, wine growers in these regions did have a surplus of stock that particular year and were certainly instrumental in popularising the tradition of eating grapes at New Year, however, there are reports that date the tradition way back to the late 1800's.

During those times, families who were well off would often eat grapes and drink champagne to celebrate the New Year. In an effort to ridicule this 'snobby' tradition, a group of working class 'madrileños' gathered at the Spanish capital's Puerta del Sol square to eat their grapes and sip their champagne; this is what led to the celebrations we now witness every year.

Thousands of people meet at the Puerta del Sol (equivalent of Times Square in New York or Trafalgar Square in London) to see in the New Year, singing, dancing and, of course, stuffing their 12 grapes in their mouths whilst downing their glasses (or bottles) of bubbly!

For those not living in Madrid, you'll find that most towns and cities have similar celebrations in their main squares. If you're in Benalmádena over the holidays, you can head up to Plaza de la Mezquita in Arroyo de la Miel and see in the New Year with thousands of other visitors and locals.

If you're not into celebrating with the masses and prefer to avoid the madness of these celebrations, another popular option is to just stay at home with friends and loved ones and watch the live broadcast of the event on TV. But make sure you don't forget your lucky grapes!

According to tradition, it is believed that whoever eats their 12 grapes as the bells chime (one for each of the twelve chimes) will have a lucky and prosperous year 🙂 A quick word of advice: Although it may seem an easy task - after all it is only twelve grapes - getting them all in your mouth before the bells stop chiming is actually quite hard. To improve your chances of success, make sure you choose small grapes!

Another quick bit of advice: Make sure you start to eat the grapes when the official chimes start. Many people get confused as there are four other double chimes just before the clock strikes twelve.

Here's the whole sequence so that there are no mix ups:

1) 35 seconds before midnight a ball at the top of the Puerto del Sol clock tower starts to fall towards the main bell.

2) Once it gets to the bottom you will hear four double chimes (Many make the mistake of starting to eat the grapes at this point but you have to wait...)

3) As the clock strikes twelve you will start to hear the 12 chimes - one approximately every 3 seconds - now is the time to start eating your grapes!

Remember the idea is to eat one grape with each chim e... good luck!

Have you got any plans for New Year's Eve? At Sunset Beach Club we've got a fabulous Gala Dinner followed by a fun Party in our Moonlight Bar! You can find more information HERE.

Happy New Year!

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The 12 Lucky Grapes: A New Year's Eve Tradition in Spain

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Those of you who have been lucky enough to celebrate New Year's Eve here in Spain will be familiar with the tradition of eating 12 'lucky'grapes as the clock strikes midnight. If you haven't the fa...

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Tradición en Catalunya (España)

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The Tió de Nadal ( Catalan pronunciation: [tiˈo ðə nəˈðal]; meaning in English "Christmas Log"), also known simply as Tió ("Trunk" or "Log", a big piece of cut wood) or Tronca ("Log"), is a character in Catalan mythology relating to a Christmas tradition widespread in Catalonia and some regions of Aragon.