New Year’s Eve is fastly getting closer and we need to be prepared when it comes. That’s why today we’ll talk about la Noche vieja in Valencia and to do it, we’ll focus on the Spanish tradition, food and events in the city.
First thing to know is the Spanish traditional way of celebrating la noche vieja, as you don’t want to feel as an outsider when they’ll drink, eat o gather around the television or jump in Plaza del Ayuntamiento for the countdown.
Every region in Spain has its own tradition, such as wearing a costume with satirical masks or wigs in Madrid, but some habits are common to all the nation that is drinking cava, (Spanish sparkling wine, similar to the French champagne but made with different grapes) and eating the lucky grapes. When the midnight chimes of the clock, you have to rapidly eat 12 grapes one for each gong, and if you successfully complete the task on time, you’ll have 12 months full of achievements, good luck and prosperity ahead of you. Be aware that you have to start eating the grapes on the official 12 gongs, before you’ll hear “los cuartos” that are 4 gongs of a higher pitch then the normal ones. Los cuartos simply warn you to be prepared and to have the grapes ready in your hands.
The tradition of las doce uvas de la suerte (twelve good luck grapes) dates back on the 1909 when the grape producers in Vinalopó in Alicante had to quickly sell large amounts of grapes due to the surplus and they came up with this efficient commercial idea.
Once the hugs and greetings for a happy new year have finished and the first day of the year officially starts, people usually leave the square to go to the events organized through all the city, in pubs, dicos or private parties at home. If you want to go clubbing we suggest you to check Xceed out to know all the discos’ parties.
Curiosity: in Valencia the New Year’s Eve is not considered as the biggest event of the year, the most celebrated holidays for Valencian people are las Fallas and Nou d’Octubre. So it’s pretty normal for them not having big fireworks during Noche vieja.
Celebrations continue as long as your body resists and before going to bed you can have some traditional churros with chocolate to finish off in a Spanish way. The following day most of the shops are closed, so you can take it easy chilling at home or taking a walk in the Turia or just going to the cinema in the afternoon.
¡Feliz año nuevo!
