Thousands celebrate the New Year at Madrid's Puerta del Sol, the "Times Square of Spain!"
WOW. I have just returned to Boston from five of the most action-packed days in Spain imaginable, thanks to the free teacher training tour run by EF Tours. And… WOW.
Thrilled to be celebrating in Spain with great teachers!
The unquestionable highlight of the tour was celebrating New Year’s Eve 2011 in Puerta del Sol, Madrid!
Puerta del Sol is the very center of Spain (if you type “Madrid” into Google maps, the marker will appear right at Sol), and all points in Spain outside of it are measured by how far away they are from Sol: the “Sun.”
Sol is also the insane Times Square equivalent of most amazing place to ring in 2012!
Now, normally I am kind of freaked out by massive, thousands-and-thousands-of-people crowds, but “safety in numbers” is a sweet perk of traveling in a group of 30 teachers instead of alone!
And what a wonderful (and surprisingly non-terrifying) time we had with the crowds at Sol!
Here are some fascinating cultural differences we noticed about New Year’s in Spain which contrast, big-time with New Year’s festivities in America.
The famous clocktower of Sol that rings in the New Year!
Difference 1: Our group of 30 teachers showed up at the very center of Sol at 11pm on December 31, 2011… and were able to walk right up to the most primo location in the square, right below the famous clock that is the equivalent of the Times Square “Ball Drop” to mark the New Year!
Now, let’s be real, here: in New York City, you cannot even get NEAR Times Square after 11am on December 31!
Why this lack of crowds until the last minute?? Our guide explained it like so: “Well, in Spain you are having such a nice time celebrating with family and friends, and you keep saying “Let’s head over to Sol!” but it gets later and later before you do!”
Demonstrating the wig-wearing tradition of Spanish New Year!
Anyway, this cultural quirk worked just fine for us. What a delight to be right in the center of it all!
Difference 2: In Spain the awesome new trend is to celebrate New Year’s wearing crazy-colored wigs! Ahh, THAT explains the many wig stores we saw popping up around town, like in the third photo down of this Madrid article.
As goofy as this trend may seem, it looks BEAUTIFUL when combined with the festive holiday lights of the historic Madrid streets! The best wigs were the popular rainbow mohawk ones, but the bright magenta curls made me grin, too. 
We ate all 12 grapes for a lucky 2012! Burp!
Difference 3: When I broadcast on Twitter and Facebook that I was headed to Spain for New Year’s, tons of people responded, “Don’t forget to eat the grapes!”
I was mystified by this, but it all became clear when our EF tour guide handed us all baggies of 12 grapes (so organized of him!) and explained: “In Spain you need swallow 12 grapes in the last 12 seconds of the year if you want good luck for the New Year!” (He explained this tradition may have been fabricated by the Fruit-Growers Lobby in a year when there was an unsold surplus of grapes!)
We gulped in nervous anticipation and spent hours debating whether this would be possible without choking.
I am happy to report that, for the most part, we all scarfed our little green fruits by the toll of the last bell of 2011. A lucky 2012 for us! Woo hoo!
Difference 4: When a fellow teacher asked a Spanish policeman if there were any Port-a-Potties or bathrooms around, he replied: “There are two cars parked close together down this street. Squat down there.” (!!!) (Note: There is no photograph to document this difference. Sorry.)
Love the lights and the excitement of being in the heart of Sol!
Difference 5: As with many non-American cultures, Spain celebrates in a strikingly intergenerational way. Puerta del Sol was packed with revelers of all ages, from 3 years old to 90!
Difference 6: It was astounding how calm and respectful the giant crowds in Madrid were, despite the excitement and revelry. Not only was it easy to walk into Sol, it took us only about twenty minutes to walk out! Sure, it was slow-going and we had to form a conga line to inch toward the Metro, meter by meter, but we witnessed no fights, no dangerous behavior, and even no shoving!
The crowds walking (respectfully!) out of Sol and to the Metro.
Now, that said, the way celebration happens in Spain is that they get started around midnight and really begin the madness at about five or six in the morning (as evidenced by the noise outside our hotel room), so I can make no promises about the calm and safety in Spain after 1am, but the whole thousands-of-people exodus out of Sol after midnight was beautifully respectful!
So those are the fascinating differences we noticed during our wonderful New Year’s celebration in Puerta del Sol in Madrid!
Readers, I’m curious to hear what other New Year’s differences YOU have noticed in celebrations for different cultures. Do use the Comments section to share, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Want to read about the New Year’s I spent homeless in Aruba? Click here!
Used to live a short distance from Sol. Never experienced NYE there though. In 2008 I went to Paris (which does nothing for NYE) and 2009 I was at home having just graduated. Glad you got to have some grapes in my for mer home though
My Cuban grandmother also makes me eat 12 grapes in the last 12 seconds before the new year starts.
Wow! Learning about New Years in the Times Square of Spain sound really fun and interesting. I love learning about how different the traditions they do are from ours!
Was there more people then in New York on New Year’s?
Nope! NYC is so packed you can’t get within 30 blocks of Times Square!
You are so lucky you get to travel to so many places!
You will be able to soon, too, if you plan and work towards it!
I think that Spain during New Year, is so fun! Honestly, I think it kind of looks like New York Time Square. I would love to go there. Seems like a lot of fun to be. Everyone is all next to each other and everyone looks so happy!
It does look like Time Square of New York. Even though the buildings are smaller than the ones in New York. Wow it’s so crowded! Everyone looks so happy and excited. I hope get the chance to go to Spain agian.
I seriously can’t wait til I get out of college so I can travel like you. It looks like there were so many people in the streets. Did you actually just swallow the grapes down? Did it hurt? I could have never done it.
We chewed them! They had seeds so it didn’t hurt but it wasn’t easy!
WOW, you’re super lucky to get to go to Madrid! Were the grapes good, because sometimes they can be sour? I hope to go to Madrid sometime too!
They were good, but I wolfed them down so fast, there was hardly time to taste!
Nice job Lilly! You captured the moment perfectly! I enjoyed reading your thoughts and meeting you in Spain as well!!!
Yay! Thanks, and great to meet you, too! Funny you just wrote now– I’m in the middle of writing an article called “Why Toledo, Spain Travel with a Giant Tour Group Was Not Horrible”
It will be up in the next day or two! I hope readjusting to America has been smooth and happy. We leave for China in a week and a half!!!!!
Here’s the article: http://www.aroundtheworldl.com/2012/02/06/why-giant-tour-group-travel-in-toledo-spain-didnt-stink/
Yaeh, this looks fun.
My cousin Richie vacationed in Barcelona this past New Years. He said it was unbelievable. I would like to visit this country too. I am making a list of places to visit when I get out of college.
Great! And even better, travel while you’re IN college through “Study Abroad!” More on that here: http://www.aroundtheworldl.com/2010/04/23/help-give-advice-to-16-21-year-olds-planning-to-travel/
This much people in Spain on Christmas? Wow, I am amazed at how colorful and the amount of sparkly fireworks there. This may actually be one of the place I want to go next for summer.
I have always wanted to go to Spain
The view looks gorgeous! I would love to visit Spain to celebrate New Year since everything looks so bright and beautiful! (:
I want to go to Madrid, Spain it looks so fun! I really like their soccer team and the lights look really nice.
Wow! What an experience. I’ve always really wanted to spend time in Europe over the festive season
Hey, Ms. Marshall,
I just realized, that my cousin was in Spain the same time as you. He spent the holidays and New Years in Spain. That must have been so cool. Wow, I was thinking if we had school, it would have been a new year for you, and we would be getting up for the bus. Well, I hope you had a good time in Spain. Have a good rest of the weekend.
What a coincidence! I hope he had a wonderful time, and I wish you a great New Year!
It was so great meeting you Lillie! I loved reading your blog and being reminded of such a fun and memorable night! Good luck on your trip to Beijing! It too will be an experience to remember! Seize every opportunity!
Yay! Same to you!
I really like the idea of wearing a wig to a celebration. I wonder why people do that in Spain.
Spanish people really know how to have fun!
I do wish to celebrate a New Years Even in Madrid!
It was so nice to read your comments and I plan to show my students this web page when I discuss our 2012 trip with them. Thank you.
Fabulous!!! Share it far and wide to tell the tale of our epic adventure. Great to meet you, and happy 2012!