Interesting facts about Spain
Overview
Interesting facts about Spain
- In Spain, most people celebrate their name day. If you have the same name as a saint or a name related to the story of a saint, then you will have a name day.
- In Spain, everyone has two surnames. The first is your father's first surname and the second is your mother's first surname.
Your father's surname is considered to be more important and that is why it is positioned first. It is always the father's surname that is carried forward to the next generation!
Here is an example: A man is called Jaime López García.
When Jaime marries a lady called Elena Martín Pérez, their children's surnames will be López Martín. Only the men's surnames survive - those of Jaime's father and Elena's father.
The word for 'surname' is 'apellido.' Some of the most common Spanish surnames are - García, Rodríguez, Martínez, Martín, Fernández, López, González, Sánchez and Pérez. - In addition to Spain, the Spanish language is spoken in the following countries-
Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela. - In Spain, the Spanish language is officially called Castilian (el castellano). There are other Spanish languages spoken there too, such as, Catalan (el catalán), Galician (el gallego), Basque (el vasco or el euskera), Valencian (el valenciano).
- Spanish people love to sing and dance. The most famous type of Spanish music is Flamenco in the south of Spain.
- During the hot summer, Spanish ladies cool themselves with a hand-held fan called 'un abanico.'
Although the fan is believed to have originated in China, it is known to have been used in Spain. In those times, people who carried a fan were considered to be of high class. - One of the most important foods in Spain is rice (arroz). It is the main ingredient in la paella which is one of the most famous traditional dishes of Spain. La paella is cooked in a very big frying pan called la paellera and traditionally it is cooked outside in the open air.
It is a mixture of rice, meat, seafood and vegetables. - The Spanish flag is red, yellow, red. There is a legend that the yellow represents the sand of the bull-fighting arena and the red is for the bulls' blood.
- In Spanish punctuation there is an upside-down question mark ¿ at the beginning of a question and a normal one at the end. In written Spanish, there is also an upside-down exclamation mark. ¡Ay!
- In Spain, the main meal of the day is at lunch time. Shops close during this time for several hours. After lunch, many people rest or take a nap. This is called a 'siesta.'
- The last night of the year is called the old night.
At New Year, it is the tradition to eat twelve grapes at midnight - one grape for each stroke of the clock. Those who eat the twelve grapes believe they will have twelve months of good luck. One grape is eaten for each month. -
There is NOT a tooth fairy in Spain. Instead, there is a tooth mouse and his name is Ratoncito Pérez.True/False
1. Most people in Spain celebrate their name day every day.
2. Mother's surname is carried forward to the next generation.
3. There are some Spanish languages spoken in Spain.
4. Spanish people love to play golf.
5. Spanish women cool themselves with the wet sponge.
6. The traditional dish of Spain is pizza.
7. Red on the Spanish flag means the bull's blood.
8. There is a special punctuation in the written Spanish.
9. In Spain many people go home after lunch.
10. At New Year people eat twelve grapes early in the morning.