White houses adorned with Christmas motifs and typical Andalusian carols (many of flamenco style) that can be heard in the streets, squares and churches, where the birth of Jesus is remembered. This is how Christmas is celebrated in the villages of Malaga. Villas where traditions and sweets like “mantecados” still inspire the essence of the festivity.
The beat of Christmas
One of the most rooted customs are the “pastorales”, musical groups that in localities like Almachar, Ojen or Casarabonela have a great protagonism. They are a further attraction of this area of great scenic beauty, apart from the Natural Park of the Sierra de las Nieves and its forests of pinsapos, a unique tree in the world. The members of the “pastoral” dress up in unique outfits and sing to the sound of castanets, tambourines and “zambombas”, the most peculiar instrument of Spanish Christmas, consisting of a cylinder covered with a skin pierced by a stick. When the stick is shaken, a very characteristic vibration sounds.
Such relevance has the “pastorales” that the first weekend of December, the village of Benaque organise a contest that brings together the best groups of the province of Malaga. The church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario of this hamlet of Macharaviaya welcomes the meeting, which every year commemorates the birth of the writer Salvador Rueda, Spanish precursor of Modernism.
Music also fill all the corners of Istan during the month of December. In this village of the Sierra de las Nieves, the locals sing old carols to the rhythm of popular instruments, what is known as 'zambombeo'. Typical sweets, such as wine bread rolls or fritters, are the stars of the local confectionery during these holidays.
Gastronomy, folklore and family
Although traditional sweets are the most important products of Christmas food, Torrox pays homage to the emblem of its cuisine with the Festival of the “Migas”. It is celebrated every Sunday before Christmas and it is an ideal occasion to taste this culinary specialty consisting of frying bread with different meats and vegetables, accompanied by the “arriera salad”, based on oranges and cod, and the "vino del terreno", delicious wine made from the famous Muscat grape from the Costa del Sol.
The food is enlivened with music and dancing, and street stalls are installed, where you have the opportunity to buy food and items with the unmistakable touch of Malaga. You can’t leave without trying the “arropías”, a sweet made with cane honey which is a true delight.
If you visit Villanueva de la Concepcion at Christmas, you are officially invited to the Feast of the Day of Jeva. It takes place on 25 December in a hermitage located in the south of the Natural Park of El Torcal, in the municipality of Antequera. A meeting of “verdiales” groups (a type of flamenco) , the so-called "choques", takes place and there are tastings of “mantecados”, fritters and brandy.
There is no village on the Costa del Sol, big or small, where the most endearing holidays of the year don’t come loaded with activities, many of them ideal for families. Parades, concerts, children's shows or storytelling fill the streets, squares and cultural centres with magic. Fancy coming to the villages of Malaga to enjoy Christmas with your family?
