What are the unique customs and cultures in Spain?

Language and religion

Spanish originated from ancient Latin and has a history of 1000 years. Spanish is the official language of Spain. In minority areas. Their respective national languages are also official languages.

Spanish is the common language of some countries in Latin America, Equatorial Guinea in Africa and several countries in North Africa. It is also a common language in parts of the Philippines. At present, there are 230 million people in the world who use Spanish. Spanish is one of the common languages of the United Nations.

94% of the inhabitants of Spain believe in Catholicism. Catholicism has a great influence on Spanish life. In addition, there are 30,000 Protestants and a few Baptists.

folk custom

"Cauldron Rice" 1987 broke the record of "Guinness" paella (similar to China's eight-treasure rice) twice in Spain. The original record was 1.5 million people cooking a pot of paella. This year's record is to cook "big pots" for 30,000 people and 60,000 people twice.

Paella is a kind of food often eaten in Valencia and Spain as a whole. It is made of rice, meat, fish and beans and is very popular with foreign tourists.

"Honeymoon Island" Spain is located in the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. It has the largest island of Mallorca, with beautiful scenery and pleasant climate. In the mid-1950s, more than 65,438,000 young men and women got married collectively in France. They yearned for the charming scenery of Mallorca for a long time and met here for their honeymoon. Afterwards, many newly married young men and women in Europe regarded this place as the best honeymoon place. Over time, the island was called "Honeymoon Island".

bullfight

Bullfighting is regarded as the "national quintessence" and "national art" of Spain and is known as the "bullfighting kingdom". The bullfighting in Spain has always attracted the attention and appreciation of the world public. Women in power day. It is said that the Moors captured segovia Castle in Samara in 1227. When people were at a loss, some women, such as St. Agda, stepped forward and led men and other women to launch a special struggle with the enemy, eventually driving the enemy away and retaking the castle. Many women died heroically. In order to commemorate the women who died in the defense of their hometown, later generations decided to take two days in February every year as "Martyrdom Day", and women held various commemorative activities in power, also known as "Women in Power Day".

In these two days, from public affairs to family, all the power held by men was given to women. Women "elect their own two mayors" and perform the power of mayors. On this day, under the command of the "female mayor", women carried the giant statue of St. Agda, the guardian of the castle, to the church guarded by men. This symbolizes the capture of segovia Castle.

Probably because of the mild climate and long sunshine hours, Spaniards prefer to get up late and go to bed late than most Europeans. Generally, shops open from 9:00 am or 9:30 am to 13:30 am, and do not close at noon 16:30 pm or 17:00 to 20:00 or 20:30. It's usually Saturday afternoon and Sunday. However, many shops are closed only on Sundays. In summer, in tourist areas, business hours can be 22:00 or 23:00 at night, seven days a week. Hotel business hours are not uniform. Normally, lunch is from 13:30 to 15:30, and dinner is from 20:30 to 23:00 or 23.

Generally speaking, the nightlife in Spain is very rich. Bars and discotheques don't close after midnight. In summer, they often close their doors after 3 pm or 4 pm. In big cities, such as Madrid or Barcelona, many casinos do not close until dawn in winter.

tip

Tipping is a popular habit in Spain. Although most hotels and bars charge service fees, it is normal to leave a little tip. This habit also extends to hotel waiters, theater ushers and taxi drivers. Although it is not mandatory, people will not object if they want to leave a tip.

Unique customs:

Spain throws tomatoes.

Tourists from all over the world and local residents in Bouilhol, Valencia, Spain used tomatoes as weapons to fight in the streets, turning the whole city center into a "sea of tomatoes".

This year, about 45,000 tourists from Britain, France, the United States, Japan and other countries participated in this "tomato throwing festival", with a record number, and 6,543,800 kilograms of excellent Spanish tomatoes were thrown at each other during the play.

The tomato war began in 1945, when the French army was occupying Spain, and the law imposed severe restrictions on the people. Among them, those official officials once banned people from holding festivals, which aroused the anger of local young people, so they threw tomatoes at officials and priests to express their strong dissatisfaction.

Southern Europe is a region rich in tomatoes. Every tomato used in the tomato war is not only mature but also huge, with a total weight of about 90 thousand pounds, all of which are transported by Spanish border cities, with the lowest cost.

Before this activity begins, everyone will try to keep their clothes to a minimum. Some people simply wear underwear or cover key parts. During the whole process, everyone threw tomatoes at each other. Everyone is covered with tomatoes, from head to toe. The town is dark red, and the streets are covered with tomato residues, forming a special scene of blood red.

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Spanish bull-running festival

The official name of Spain's annual Bull Run Festival is "Bullfighting Festival", and San Fermin is the patron saint of Pamplona, the capital of the wealthy Navarra province in northeastern Spain. The origin of the Bull Running Festival is directly related to the tradition of bullfighting in Spain. It is said that it is difficult for Pamplona people to drive six tall bulls from the cowshed in the suburbs to the bullring in the city. /kloc-in the 0 th and 7 th centuries, onlookers had a whim and dared to run to the bull, angering it and inducing it to rush into the bullring. Later, this custom evolved into the running of cattle festival. 1923, the famous American writer Hemingway came to Pamplona for the first time to watch the running of cattle, and wrote the famous novel The Sun Also Rises. He described the process of running the cow in detail in his works, which made it famous all over the world. 1954 After Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Spanish Bull Running Festival became more famous. In order to thank Hemingway for his contribution to the Bull Running Festival, local residents specially erected a statue for him at the entrance of the bullring.

"Bull Run Road" is located in the old city of Pamplona, which is actually a narrow stone street with a total length of 848 meters. Thousands of fans crowded the streets during the Bull Run Festival. This bull, weighing about 500 kilograms, rushed out of the cowshed and ran wildly in the messy crowd at a speed of 24 kilometers per hour in 4 minutes. People often turned it upside down and it was full of danger. Finally, the bull was introduced into the bullring. During the running of cattle, people were injured and even died every year. According to statistics, from 1924 to 2002, * * * 14 people were killed by cattle, and more than 200 people were injured by cattle. Even so, adventurers from all over the world will gather in Pamplona, a small town with a population of only 1.8 million, from July 6 to June 4 every year to enjoy the fun and excitement of the nine-day dangerous game of people and cattle.

Spanish social etiquette

Etiquette and manners

Local women have a "myth". For example, when a woman turns on the fan and covers the lower part of her face, it means: I love you. Do you like me? If you open it and close it for a while, it means: I miss you very much. Therefore, women who have just arrived in Spain, if they don't understand the language of fans, it is best not to use fans.

Meeting etiquette

Spaniards usually shake hands when meeting guests in formal social situations. Boyfriends often hug each other when they meet acquaintances. Spanish names usually have three or four parts. The first two sections are my name, the penultimate section is my father's surname, and the last section is my mother's surname. Usually it is the father's surname.

business etiquette

Spaniards attach great importance to credibility and always try their best to fulfill signed contracts. Even if the contract is found to have disadvantages, it is unwilling to admit its mistakes publicly. In this case, if the other party can help them sincerely, it will win the respect and friendship of the Spanish. Spaniards are punctual only when they take part in bullfighting, but guests should also be punctual, even if the other party is late, don't blame them.

Travel etiquette

Spaniards are cheerful and enthusiastic, but easily excited. Sometimes it is normal to quarrel, and they are used to it. When a Spaniard eats, he usually politely invites people around him to share with him, but this is just a gesture of etiquette. Don't accept it easily, or they will think you are uneducated.