Spain's Scrap Book
by Sante Filippini
Table of Contents
History of Spain P.4
Foods P.12
Regions P.6
Clothing P.13
Government P.7
Entertainment P.14
Religion P.8
Customs and Celebrations
P.15
Shelter P.9
Family Life P.10
Values P.11
Map of Spain P.5
Glossary P.16
Index P.17
Biblography P.18
Spain's Map
Spain's History
1479: Castile and Arogan united to keep Spain under their own rule.
1512: King Ferdinand V seized the kingdom of Navarey completing the unification
of what is now Spain.
1556-1598: The Spanish Empire reached it's height during the region of Phillip XI.
1588: The English Navy defeated the Spanish Armanda.
1640: Portugal declares it's independence from Spain.
1955: Spain becomes a member of the United Nations.
1992: Barcelona holds the summer Olympics.
Regions in the country include unique
natural resources.
Spain has a wide range of beautiful
areas. The Meseta region (central) is the
region where they grow olives cereal and
grapes. The Mediterranean costal area
offers oranges, lemons and almond groves.
The Mediterranean area is a
popular place to vacation. It is hot
and has beaches. The Sierra
Nevada region is cold in the winter.
People go there to ski.
Form of government and currency
Spain adopted a new consitution in 1978. The constitution
gave Spain a democratic type of government called a
Parliamentary Monarchy. The main public officials are king,
Prime Minister, and members of a cabinet and a Parliament.
In 1999 Spain joined the EEC, and began using the European
form of currency called Euro. The Euro is used by most
European countries.
Religious beliefs and places of worship
During most of the period from 1851 to 1978, Catholicism was
the state religion of Spain. During that time, and particularly
under Francisco Franco, the government restricted the rights of
non-Catholicism in many ways. For example, only Catholic
marriage ceremonies were legal. In 1978 the consitiution
changed and said that Spain would no longer have a state
religion, and all people of all faiths are allowed complete
religious freedeom. There are
still a lot of Catholic people in Spain.
Shelter
Spanish houses are mostly made out of clay and stone. The
roofs are made out of clay tiles, and the tiles are usually orange
and shaped like cylinders. They have large open areas for
socializing and for air flow, to help keep the houses cool.
Family Life
In Spain there is a strong sense of family. They tend to gather
often to share a meal. They also have incredible senses of
humor and they like to laugh with each other. Spanish people
recognize that family is important, and realize that families need
to stick together.
Values-what they think is important
The things that matter the most to Spaniards are family and friends.
They always stick together and are loyal. The people in Spain value
friendship. They mostly prefer to do business with a friend or a loved
one. Spaniards do not like conflict or violence, they prefer peace and
kindness.
Spaniards love beautiful architecture. They are very proud of Antoni
Gaudi, and his beautiful buildings in Barcelona.
Foods
The most popular dish in Spain is Paella. It is made out of
shrimp, vegetables and a splash of rice. The spice used is
saffron. Another popular food is called tapas. It is a bunch of
appetizers that are shared by a bunch of people at the same
table. They also really like breads, cheeses and fine wines.
Mealtime is considered a very important time to socialize and
enjoy family and friends. Gazpacho is also popular. It is cold
soup, made with vegetables.
Clothing
During the 16th century, Spain was widely known for fashion
and elegence. The traditional Spanish clothing was known for
superb decoration. Some clothes had pearls, gold and silver.
Today's Spanish clothes are still very colorful. Some Spanish
citizens still dress in traditional style clothes for festivals. The
Matador's costume has remained the same for centuries.
Entertainment, Hobbies and Sports
One of the favorite sports is futbol (soccer). They love the
competition, and take it very seriously. It has been the
traditional sport of Spain for years. In Spain, a very popular
event to watch is bullfighting. It is a ferocious sport, but has
been a part of the Spanish culture for centuries. The running of
the bulls takes place in Pamplona, Spain. It involves a lot of
practice and running. Bulls are released in the streets and the
men run for their lives. Every year, people do it to prove that
they are brave.The Spanish people also love music and
dancing.They love opera.
Customs and Celebrations
Every year in Spain, they have a very crazy celebration. It is a
giant food fight, but they can only use tomatoes to throw. A
bunch of people get tomatoes, and throw them at each other. It
sounds like a fun, but a messy celebration.
In Spain, another tradition is the Flamenco Dance. The dance
expresses feelings like happiness, sadness and love. it has
been in their culture for ages.
A daily custom is to take siesta, which is
a short rest or nap.
Glossary
Matador: The man or woman who fights the bull in the bullfight
Paella: A traditional Spanish dish, which includes lots of spices, shrimp and rice
Giant Tomato Fight: An annual event. A big messy food fight!
Euro: Current form of currency in Spain
Catholisism: The most popular religion in Spain
Parliament: Spain's current type of government
Antoni Gaudi: A famous architect that built a lot of beautiful buildings in Barcelona.
Index
Bullfighting, Slide 13
Antoni Gaudi, Slide 10
Paella, Slide 11
Barcelona Olympics, Slide 4
Flamenco Dance, Slide 14
Matador, Slides 11, 12
Family Life, Slide 9
Government, Slide 6
Euro, Slide 5
Map of Spain 3
Bibliography
WorldKids.com
Wikopedia.org
Worldbook.com
Kwintessential.com
Champion, Neil. Countries of the World. New York, New York:
Evans Brothers, 2006
Croy, Anita. Spain. Washington DC: National Geographic,
2010