People of a certain age (re: not in their teens or twenties) are likely to spend New Year's Eve in, with family. So after dropping off my parents following their Christmas visit, that is exactly what I did.
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Grapes ready for the 12 chimes
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In Spain, NYE means dinner with family (almost always starring seafood, despite the price hikes during
December that could make your eyes pop out of your head like a cartoon), and grapes at midnight. No ball drops here, but folks do gather in town squares to ring in the New Year. Like Americans tuning in to the action in New York City, most Spaniards tune in to broadcasts from Madrid. The Galician TV channel TVG offers an alternative: their program broadcasts from the Praza do Obradoiro, in front of the Cathedral of Santiago. While there are several options for NYE countdown shows in Spain, one channel in particular tries to capture audiences by enticing them with the outlandish dress of presenter Cristina Pedroche. Every year, she wears an enormous cape until 11:59 when she reveals a very revealing dress indeed. Not something I am interested in, but some people in our family insisted we watch that channel to get a glimpse of this year's dress. Yawn.
Some time after the 12 grapes at midnight the youth and party animals go out. Not my case anymore. For a quiet New Year's at home, another Spanish classic is watching ¨Cachitos¨ or snippets on public television. For hours after midnight, they play clips of music videos from years gone by. They are almost always accompanied by snarky comments on the ticker tape below. This New Year's Eve we had multiple generations singing along, and the youngest rocking out. A fine start to the new year.
