Christmas is the most special time of the year for children eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Three Kings with all their gifts, for grandparents enjoying the company of their children and grandchildren, for families gathering around a table... The Madrid City Council is also looking forward to the festive season and will do everything in its power to make sure that these dates - from the end of November 2024 to 6 January 2025 - are as beautiful and joyful as possible as we commemorate the birth of the baby Jesus in a humble manger in Bethlehem.
Madrid will be buzzing with excitement beneath special lighting displays that will add colour to all the city’s districts. A giant star symbolising the one that led Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar to the Holy Family has been displayed between Plaza de Cristo Rey and Calle de Cea Bermúdez.
Street markets selling typical Christmas items and, who knows, perhaps the gift you’ve been searching for everywhere; nativity scenes such as the one at Cibeles Palace, in CentroCentro, where the magnificent exhibition Seventy Great Masters from the Pérez Simón Collection is still open, the San Silvestre Vallecana race; the bells ringing in the New Year at Puerta del Sol; the Christmas lottery; Juvenalia at the IFEMA fairgrounds and Madrid, Navidad de Encuentro (Christmas Encounter) at Matadero Madrid with Germany as this year’s guest country; the ice skating rinks at Matadero Madrid, CentroCentro and in several districts; the shows at the Circo Price; lunches and dinners with friends and co-workers… It’s such a feast for the senses that you will have to catch your breath for a minute! The concerts at the WiZink Centre; the 30th Gospel Greats Festival at the Fernán Gómez - Centro Cultural de la Villa; Los Distritos Cantan (The Districts Sing) at the CentroCentro auditorium with choirs from the city’s 21 districts; Christmas music on balconies and in the streets and churches; lighting displays, the Navidad de cristal (Snow Crystals) interactive installation in the central courtyard of the Condeduque Centre for Contemporary Culture; the Three Kings Parade in the different districts and, of course, the main Parade which attracts residents and visitors by the thousands and this year ends at Plaza Cibeles with music and a grand fireworks display…
All of this will give us the chance to come together and express the affection we feel for one another and to celebrate the beauty and wonder of life and the flame of hope that never quite goes out.
So, whether you’re a resident or a tourist spending a few magical days here in Madrid, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Feliz Navidad!
José Luis Martínez-Almeida