Sitting on my terrace enjoying the lovely November sunshine and a pleasant temperature of 22 degrees, Christmas seems a long way off, but nothing could be further from the truth as the various villages and towns in the Axarquia, especially the city of Málaga, prepare to celebrate Christmas and the end-of-year festivities. After New Year's Day, however, the festivities are not over because Epiphany, 6 January, is an important public holiday here.

I have been 'Malagueña' for several years now and every year I enjoy the beautiful light decorations in the city. This year, the spectacular 'encendido', the first ignition of the lights, takes place on Friday 24 November. The event in Calle Larios, Málaga's main shopping street, starts at 7pm and attracts countless spectators including many tourists but also many Spaniards from far and wide. They come in large numbers to witness the light show for the first time. In the following days, the lights are on every day from 18:30, daily until midnight and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday until 02:00. The show is repeated every day at 6.30pm, 8pm and 10pm, except on 24 and 31 December. The impressive illuminated arches in Calle Larios offer a mesmerising spectacle that really should not be missed.

Of course, all streets in the city are enchantingly lit, so in the beautiful, redecorated Alameda Principal with its beautifully lit trees you can imagine yourself in a beautiful forest. Something of recent years is the video mapping on the cathedral tower and some buildings on the Plaza de la Constitución in the heart of the city, among others. These breathtaking projections are also well worth seeing.

During the festive month of December, also visit the Jardin Botánico Histórico La Concepción. This beautiful garden located in the north of the city of Málaga is also enlightened with fairy lights from 1 December to 7 January.Apart from the lights, there are many nativity scenes to visit around Christmas time, not only in the city of Málaga but also in many picturesque villages in the Axarquia, for example in Canillas de Albaida and in Almayate there is even a Belén viviente, a living nativity scene to visit. Nor are the various Christmas markets missing from the scene.

Earlier I mentioned the Epiphany festival, a traditional children's festival, somewhat similar to the Dutch Sinterklaas festival. Children are visited by the three kings who bring presents in the night on the evening before Epiphany, i.e. on 5 January. On this day there is also a big parade with floats through the city centre of Málaga, along the routes many parents and grandparents gather with children and grandchildren and not only the floats are the attraction but especially the veles candy sprinkled during this parade. At Christmas I will be with my family in the Netherlands but I am definitely going to fully enjoy the defantastic Christmas atmosphere I can already immerse myself in here.

Jeannette