Rural customs in Menorca of the month of December 

Christmas festivities were celebrated—and still are—with great solemnity among Menorcan rural folk. In the past, farmers would come down from their llocs (country estates) on Saturday evening, attend Midnight Mass, and then either return home or stay overnight at the village inn. 

On Christmas morning, the meal was prepared at the estate and, however poor it might be, Christmas broth was never missing. They made coques (cakes/flatbreads), slaughtered a chicken or a capon, and the better-off would have a turkey, although in many places they would roast lamb or a suckling pig. There were always nougat sweets, neules, toasted almonds, amargos, ring-shaped biscuits, and pasta reial (marzipan paste), depending on each family’s means. 

On Christmas afternoon, they would go down to the village to visit relatives and see the nativity scenes, both those in private homes and those displayed in churches and convents. 

The children sang songs and Christmas carols in the streets. After the Christmas meal, diners d’anous (Christmas money, literally “walnut money”) were given, and the youngest would also receive them when visiting close family such as grandparents. They also never failed to visit the house of the estate owner. 

Those who stayed on the estate would gather—sometimes with people from nearby estates—at someone’s house for a small evening get-together, with serenades: songs accompanied by guitars, and the occasional traditional rural dance.