Welcome Ukrainian citizens.
We continue with our basic course basic course on Spanish culture.
I'm Maria del Pilar Gomis Pascual,
Vice Dean of Students and Communication
of the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology of the UNED.
We start by making a small allusion to the weather.
The climate in Spain is generally mild,
although depending on the season of the year in which we find ourselves.
and the geographical area may vary.
And we can even talk about that in Spain and different climates,
for example in the northern part of the peninsula,
the autonomous communities of Galicia,
Asturias, Basque Country, the north of Navarre and Aragon
is characterised by a climate called oceanic Atlantic.
That is to say, they are quite humid places, the temperatures are temperate,
although there's quite a marked temperature quite marked between winter
and summer, the east coast and the south of the country,
including much of part of Andalusia and Extremadura,
present what is called Mediterranean climate.
Summers are hot and dry, winters are wet and cold
and temperatures are moderate.
In the central part of the peninsula we find an inland climate
called continental Mediterranean.
The summers are hot and dry, winters are wet and cold,
but the temperatures are a little bit more extreme.
The Canary Islands have
a tropical climate with a tropical influence tropical influence, with high temperatures
throughout the year and throughout the whole peninsula
there is mountain climate, especially the mountain ranges,
as is the Cordillera
Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees or other areas above 1,000 metres in the
sea level.
Temperatures are low today and abundant precipitation,
often in the form of snow.
As for the seasons of the year, autumn, i.e. September
to December,
is characterised by
because the temperatures are dropping, alternating
cooler days with others, where the weather remains stable.
The end of summer and the beginning of autumn
usually concentrates weeks of intense
rainfall, especially on the Levante coast,
but they pass soon
and, with some exceptions, they do not usually leave very serious consequences.
Winter from December to March is a time of cold winds,
with a lot of rainy days
and on which
nights are particularly cold, especially in inland areas.
In the spring from March to June, the days are quite warm
and sunny, without losing sight of
the rains and the winds, which are still cold at times.
Last but not least, the summer from June to September
is a season which is particularly hot,
especially in the centre and in the south of the peninsula.
It stands out, for example, cities like Seville,
where temperatures are especially high,
although on the coast the sensation is pleasant and it tends to
there is a cool breeze that moderates the extreme heat.
If we talk about time zones, to say that in the whole territory
Spanish territory, except in the Canary Islands, where we have one hour less,
we find ourselves with the time
central european time, that is, for reference
Berlin time and not Western time, which would be London time.
That is to say, in Spain we are one hour behind.
Regarding the Ukrainian time, when here it's 19 45,
in Ukraine it's 20 45 on average.
Therefore, in Spain we are one hour ahead
with respect to the sun in winter and two hours in summer,
because there are two time changes.
On the last Saturday in October the time of the
three o'clock would be two o'clock
and on the last Saturday in March is brought forward one hour to two o'clock.
It is three o'clock.
Regarding the national holidays,
that is to say that in Spain there are three types of public holidays
national holidays, regional holidays,
those that depend on each autonomous autonomous community and local holidays.
If we look at in the working calendar of 2022,
in this year there are 12 national holidays, eight
which are celebrated
jointly throughout Spain, four regional and two local.
The national holidays of 2022
are 1 January, Saturday, New Year's Day, January 6th, Thursday,
Epiphany, 15 April, Friday, Good Friday,
the 15th of August which is the Assumption Day, falls on
Monday, October 12th, Wednesday, Columbus Day,
November 1st, Tuesday, All Saints' Day,
6th December, also Tuesday, day of the Spanish Constitution
and the 8th of December, day of the Immaculate Conception.
In these are holidays in all Spain,
although it may depend on several factors.
If we look now on the business hours,
each autonomous community and each season of the year has a timetable
and depending on the trade we have one type of commercial timetable or another.
Although it is normal in Spain is that the shops work
from 10:00 until 21:00 at night without interruption.
Large supermarkets usually close at ten o'clock
or even in some cases, just as it happens
in coastal shops at 11 o'clock, especially,
as I say, in the big cities and in the most touristic areas,
sometimes as well, especially in the summer,
the smaller shops.
Small shops closes from 2:00 to 5:00 noon.
Business hours are regulated by law
1/2004, of 21 December, on business hours (LHC).
Many shops, especially those located
in the large shopping centres, are also open on Sundays and public holidays,
but it is better to find out depending on in which autonomous community
we are in.
Any city
in Spain has in its streets multiple retail shops.
In small shops you can buy
practically everything food, clothes, equipment, etc.
These shops coexist with hypermarkets or supermarkets
more specialised in everyday products everyday products,
food products, and with large retail outlets
which can be found in practically all the big cities, where they
usually have shopping areas with others of leisure and restoration.
It is also common in many cities and towns in Spain
that one day a week, fortnightly or monthly,
there are street markets, i.e. street stalls
that are set up in a street or in a particular area of the cities
where you can make all kinds of shopping.
In Spain it is not allowed street vending and in the shops
prices are fixed.
So bargaining does not usually take place.
In addition, we have online trading, which is a possibility that is already
consolidated in the country.
In practically all shops we will be able to pay with debit card
or credit card,
and it is also compulsory to do so when the amount of our purchase
exceeds 1.000 €, as established by Law 11/2021
of measures to prevent and combat and fight against tax fraud.
The currency in Spain is the euro, it is divided into 100 cents.
As of today, the equivalence with the hryvna.
at the beginning of June, is that one hryvna is equivalent to 0.032 euro.
Bank branches in Spain
have business hours from Monday to Friday, from 08:30 to 02:30.
Some offices are open on even on Thursday afternoons.
Although it's becoming less and less common.
Bank offices are closed on weekends and public holidays.
And in the case of
there are local local holidays or special days,
such as 24 and 31 December, the timetable may be modified.
In addition, there are many procedures and services that have timetables
specific.
And many of them have to be done by the internet or at ATMs.
That's why our recommendation is always know the opening hours of the office
before you go to the office.
In addition, we have these tickets 10-euro notes..,
of 20 €, of 100 €, of 200 €.
And although new banknotes are no longer new ones, they are still in circulation
some 500s.
In Spain
they usually eat well, at least that's what tradition says.
We usually eat up to five meals a day.
The biggest meal is lunch, which is,
the main meal which is at midday.
The time of the meal depends, although it is normal to eat between
13:00 and 15:30. The times of the bars
and restaurants are in accordance with this custom.
Lunch usually consists of two courses and a dessert,
although sometimes you have what's called an aperitif what's called an aperitif, before.
Especially on special occasions, holidays or group events.
The dinner schedule
is also somewhat later than in other European countries.
Dinner is usually eaten between 20:30 and 22:30
and in the summer they even dine between 21:00 and 23:00. between 21:00 and 23:00.
Also the opening hours of the restaurants
and bars are adjusted to these customs.
The diet that characterises Spain is the Mediterranean diet,
although in recent years there have been changes.
The basic diet of the majority is based on the consumption of
vegetables, fruits, cereals and legumes, fruit, cereals and pulses.
Moderate use of dairy and meat, as well as fish and olive oil.
Wine consumption tends to be the main is the main alcohol intake
that accompanies meals, as it is a tradition in Spain
everything that has to do with wine.
Although the typical gastronomy is going to depend on each autonomous community.
Some of the best known dishes in Spain are the Valencian paella,
a dish made from rice, the cocido madrileño, chickpeas, chickpeas
with meat, vegetables and in some cases soup.
The potato omelette, the fabada asturiana, the gazpacho,
salmorejo or cold meats, Iberian ham, pork loin, cheese or the bread
an tomaca, typical of Catalonia. Among some of the customs
or traditions that characterize our country
highlight festivals such as the Fallas in Valencia or the Hogueras Valencia or the Bonfires of Alicante,
which are festivals related to fire with fire; the carnival
being typical, the Carnival of Cadiz, the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife,
but also carnivals in many other cities in Spain.
Christmas which starts with Christmas Eve.
It is customary to have a dinner with family, friends,
on the 24th.
The next day is Christmas Day. December 31st,
New Year's Eve, the tradition of which is to eat the 12 grapes
to the rhythm of the 12 chimes that usher in the new year.
And the day of the Three Kings, January 6th, which is usually accompanied by
of a parade
through the streets of the cities to give the
welcome to the Three Wise Men, for the little ones to enjoy.
On January 5th, in addition, there are other festivities such as the Castellet,
human castles in the area of Catalonia
or the Octopus Fair in Galicia. Festivities
that always have a religious origin or that are based on traditions
of the countryside associated to gastronomy, to tradition
or popular culture.
And also, Spain also has many clichés.
Although there are typical dances in all the communities,
are famous, for example, the sevillanas or flamenco,
being something that characterizes,
in terms of tourism, to our country.
Historically, it has also been associated Spain with the bullfighting festival,
highlighting festivities
such as the running of the bulls in Sanfermines or the bullfights.
Although Spain is a non-confessional country, it is typical
the celebration of the Holy Week with impressive processions
and other events in the streets of almost every every town or city in the country.
And finally, if we talk about clichés, there is the siesta, which is something
that is usually associated with the culture of our country.
In spite of everything and in spite of everything, Spanish culture is characterised by
by the mixture of customs, different beliefs and traditions
that have been added over the years of history.
From the many peoples that have inhabited the peninsula.
However, today, each territory has a cultural identity has a cultural identity
rich cultural identity that is worth worth knowing in depth.