COSTA Blanca is ac\ nice place to stay whether in summer or winter. Because today it is approaching winter, let’s discuss first the many festivities this month in Costa Blanca. Right now, Christmas season for Roman Catholic inhabitants and for the rest of the Christians is in full swing. Actually, it is still Advent which started last Sunday. For four succeeding Sundays, one Advent candle representing each Sunday will be lit in a wreath placed before the altar of the local Roman Catholic church. Then for nine dawns before Christmas Eve, Costa Blanca natives will go to mass. They will then consume breakfast at street-side eateries after the mass consisting of traditional Costa Blanca delicacies such as tapas and turron as dessert. Of course, who can ever forget the yummy seafood from the Mediterranean such as redfish, grouper, mussels and lobsters dipped in healthy olive oil?
Then they jog home to go back to their work because only December 25 is the holiday. In the evening of December 24, Costa Blanca natives then go to one house in the neighborhood to drink beer while waiting for the clock to tick midnight. An hour after midnight, they go back to their respective families to have a festive celebration. There are fireworks at the Mediterranean coastline and they are really spectacular to look at. When the civil world celebrate New Year on January 1, the Roman Catholics of Costa Blanca celebrate the Motherhood of Mary. For them, it is compulsory to attend mass on that day. Aside from that, there are fireworks again on New Year’s Eve. The Christmas celebration is capped with the feast of the Epiphany on the first Sunday of January and ordinary days of the liturgical year go back again a day after that.
For the uninitiated, there is also a small Jewish community here in Costa Blanca because Spain is a secular country with equal opportunity and non-discriminatory policies. The Jews love being here because there is an abundance of lamb meat here and Jews love lamb. They also have a celebration this month which is the Hannukah or the Festival of Lights to commemorate the win of the Maccabees over King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The Muslims in Costa Blanca too have their own celebration – the Eid ul-Adha which commemorates the willingness of prophet Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac before Allah.
During summer, beaches of Costa Blanca are divided into two – the nudist and the non-nudist. The nudist beaches are exclusive to public nudists so if you want to skinny-dip only with your boyfriend around, then better go to a secluded beach. Just don’t go alone because lifeguards and the naval Guardia Civil don’t usually patrol these areas.
Remember though, after all the excitement of the skinny dipping, there’s the rest of Spain to explore too! Why not look into Malaga and explore Andalucia? A big change from Valencia!
You could also see places outside of Spain – France is but a mere flight away and, especially if you can learn the language beforehand (playing casino en ligne for example), you really coudl appreciate the change of scenery. Try St Tropez or Nice – sure fire favourites you can’t fail to enjoy!