Christmas in the Canaries

The dismal summer of 2007 has created an unprecedented upsurge in the number of Britons planning to spend the festive season abroad this Christmas, with some travel agencies and brokers reporting double the bookings of 2006.

The Canary Island of Lanzarote – which is located just off the coast of west Africa – is one of the closest winter sun destinations to the UK – just four hours flying time away.

And as a result it is set to be one of the most popular holiday choices this festive season.

So what sort of Christmas experience can first time visitors to the island expect?

If sunshine and warmth are among the criteria then holidaymakers will not be disappointed.

The weather in Lanzarote over the Christmas period is – as a rule – excellent, delivering minimum air temperatures of 21 degrees (and often more), along with an average of seven sunshine hours per day. This creates the perfect conditions for sunbathing on the beach while everyone back home is tucking into their turkey.

Christmas customs in the Canaries bear plenty of similarities to the UK. But there are also numerous cultural differences which give the festive season in Lanzarote its own unique identity.

From the middle of December onwards fantastic miniature nativity scenes – Portals de Belen – are created in the main squares of towns and villages across the island. The miniatures feature intricate and elaborate depictions of the Bible story – often with special effects and lighting thrown in for good measure too.

December 22nd is also an important – if totally non-secular date – in the local calendar as this is when the winners of Spain's massive annual Christmas lottery El Gordo (The Fat One) are announced.

This particular tradition does, in fairness, have much deeper roots than say the national lottery in Britain. First introduced as long ago as 1763 by King Carlos III, the lottery is now widely regarded as the official beginning of the Christmas festivities.

As in most Catholic countries Christmas Eve – Nochebuena - is an important family occasion, which means that many bars and restaurants on the island close earlier than usual so that employees can enjoy time with their family and maybe even attend midnight mass or 'Misa del Gallo'.

December 25th however is a much more low-key affair than in the UK as the main focal point of a Spanish Christmas is El Dia De Los Reyes on January 6th, when gifts are finally exchanged and presents opened, all delivered by the Three Kings – not Father Christmas who is more of a northern European invention.

The event is marked with a major camel-back procession through the capital city of Arrecife on the evening of January 5th as the Three Kings dispense sweets to children in the streets, a celebration that is then repeated later in the evening in other towns and villages across the island.

In between these two very different Christmas Days there is also the small matter of New Year's Eve, which is a major celebration marked with impressive fireworks displays across the island. The biggest and best takes place in the main tourist resort of Puerto del Carmen where a barrage of 'fuegos articificales' – artificial fire as fireworks are called in Spain – welcomes in the coming year.

Nick Ball, editor of Lanzaroteguidebook.com