1962 EL AÑO DE LA GRAN NEVADA Y LAS RIADAS DEL VALLÉS

You can share our videos:    / @barcelonamemory   If you'd like to contribute a small amount to support the channel: https://es.tipeee.com/barcelona-memory. Until the early 20th century, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), the first nativity scenes were held in Plaça de Sant Jaume and Plaça Nova. This was the day the Tió (a traditional Spanish ox) began to be fed. On the Feast of Santa Llúcia, the fair was held around the cathedral, where the saint is venerated. On December 21, the Feast of Saint Thomas, the fairs were held in Plaça del Pi, Plaça Sant Josep Oriol, and El Born. A peculiar figurine of the Nativity scene is the caganér, a symbol of fertility. As Christmas approached, "Indian" fairs were held, such as the one in front of Ciudadela Park, the one in front of the cathedral, or the one set up on Rambla Catalunya and Gran Vía. In 1962, the city center streets sparkled with Christmas lights and decorations. City workers collected gifts from the townspeople at their feet, and garbage collectors, both urban and night watchmen, went house to house asking for a Christmas bonus with their greeting cards... Everyone followed the songs of the children of San Ildefonso to find out if the family had number 00675 and had won the lottery... or at least, a small amount with the pedrea (stone lottery). (The first lottery was in the middle of the War of Independence, Cádiz, 1812.) If there hadn't been any luck... there was always the Children's Lottery... This year, in 1962, El Corte Inglés, with its façade magnificently decorated for the holidays, introduced a Royal Postman to collect the Three Wise Men's letters. The first mailbox for the Three Wise Men was placed by a toy store in Pasaje del Reloj (1877). Later, "El Siglo" copied the idea, and from then on, it became a tradition to go with our parents to Sepu, Casa Vilardell, El Águila, El Corte Inglés, or Can Jorba to drop off the Three Wise Men's letters. After Christmas Eve dinner, many people attended the traditional Midnight Mass. It was during mass that the first snowflakes began to fall, but the snowfall soon began to intensify... On Christmas Day, Santa Claus brought us an unusual Barcelona. It was covered in a thick blanket of snow, and it would continue to snow until midnight. The silence was stunning... Traffic was paralyzed... only the metro was still open... It was the snowfall of the century. The children were excited and insisted on going out into the street to make snowmen and throw snowballs. Some adults enjoyed skiing down Balmes Street, using the metro as a ski lift to take them back down the street. Some even saw two elephants in the snowy streets... they had escaped from the Monumental Circus... Mayor Porcioles remembered Andreu Claret i Casadesus, exiled in Andorra, where he had designed snowplows for Envalira. He asked him to bring them to Barcelona. After two days of travel, their arrival was spectacular; the guards had to make way for the procession, parting a crowd of Barcelona residents who welcomed them as if they were coming to liberate Barcelona. ...the last day of the year was approaching. The children were celebrating the day of L'Home del Nassos. You had to find a man with as many noses as there are days in a year... The custom of eating twelve grapes came from France and took root here at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1962, the twelve grapes were eaten for the first time while watching the twelve chimes of the bells broadcast on television from Madrid's Puerta del Sol. For many years, they were presented by Joaquín Prats Sr., the voice of the radio matches and NODO. If you were in the city center, you couldn't miss Plaza Cataluña to admire the magnificent Christmas decorations and the El Corte Inglés window displays, and to see the large tree at Can Jorba or in the Plaza de Sant Jaume. No child could miss the Three Kings' parade with their floats, camels, and pageboys... a tradition that began in Barcelona in 1855. In 1962, children and parents crowded around the Puerta de la Paz area to see the Three Kings, who had recently arrived by sea. The floats were designed by the Bartolí Studios, owned by Josep Bartolí, who specialized in theatrical decoration (1942-1990). The Black King was played (from 1959 to 2018) by a Guinean from the Fang tribe who came to Barcelona to study, Severino Baita. Three Kings' Night was the most magical and exciting time for the little ones. Impatience meant that on that day, the children were the first to wake up to see what the Three Wise Men had brought them. January 6th was the day of the Children's Lottery, the last chance to win a lottery ticket "to fill in the gaps," and it was also the last family meal of Christmas. That day, dessert was the traditional Tortell de Reyes (Three Kings' Cake). If you want to read the full text and see the photos: www.barcelonamemory.com