Barcelona at Christmas - worth the trip?

Hi Kim My husband & I were in Spain (Valencia and Barcelona) winter of 1987-88. Barcelona at Christmas is one of our favorite memories. Hundreds of children were led around the cathedral looking at all the nativity scenes. They don't celebrate Christmas as much as northern Europe, so you may think about going else where, maybe Germany or Austria.
Jana

You will enjoy the true meaning of Christmas in Barcelona - Religion not shopping! I would select Madrid but that is just my personal preference. I would enjoy Spain at any time of year.

Barcelona wouldn't be my first choice. Barcelona may be the least religious area in Spain. They also celebrate Jan 6th rather than December 25th.

You will not find very much like the 'vibe' of Christmas which you are used to.

Brad I am glad you mentioned the date January 6th instead of Dec 25th. I forgot. This is the same in many other countries, including Greece.
Jana

I've spent a couple of Christmas's in southern Spain. I really enjoyed it- much more relaxed and because it's not such a major commercial event, Christmas Eve the stores closed early and everyone headed for a bar!
The kids get their gifts on Jan 6th, the feast of Kings when just about every city has a big parade that evening. We were in Granada for one and Malaga for the second year and really loved it.

Southern Spain, or most of Spain, would be different. We spent half of Semana Santa in Barcelona this year and felt like we wasted the time. While the rest of the country has major celebrations during the week, Barcelona had next to nothing (extra masses at the Cathedral and one non-church related procession on Good Friday). We should have planned our visit to Barcelona outside of a religious time and spent the week traveling in more church-oriented areas.