Spain's Scrap Book by Sante Filippini

1. Spain's Scrap Book by Sante Filippini

2. History of Spain P.4 Regions P.6 Government P.7 Religion P.8 Shelter P.9 Family Life P.10 Values P.11 Map of Spain P.5 Foods P.12 Clothing P.13 Entertainment P.14 Customs and Celebrations P.15 Glossary P.16 Index P.17 Biblography P.18 Table of Contents

3. Spain's Map

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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. 

10. 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. 

11. 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.

12. 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. 

13. 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.

14. 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. 

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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