This year, Palma de Mallorca hosts three public Christmas Markets, one in Plaça Major, the main square, one in Plaça Espanya, and one in the Rambla Ducs de Palma. There you can find Christmas decorations, Christmas presents, Christmas sweets including Turrón, as well as Beléns and figurines for the nativity scenes, and of course, traditional hot roasted chestnuts.

These markets will continue into early January, given that the main focus during the Christmas festivities in Mallorca, and in the whole of Spain, is the arrival of the Three Kings, the Reyes Magos, on January 6th. As with many religious festivities, the excitement starts the night before the day. Thus Gaspar, Melchor and Baltasar (the Three Kings) will make their appearance in Palma and in the pueblos already on January 5th in the early evening. Be prepared for some excitement, and try to sample some hot roasted chestnuts whilst they last. The small fruits seem of the best quality if they hail from Galicia in the north of Spain, apparently.

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The date: December 3rd, 2008. The time was 12:42:23.