Currently, the Christmas Lottery is definitely one of the most important Draws that take place in Spain. This event has many years of history, in addition to officially marking the beginning of Christmas. The event is held just a few days before Christmas Eve, specifically on December 22nd, and many superstitious people decide to buy a specific number that reminds them of a special date, a birthday, etc.

The first Draw took place back in 1812, specifically in Cádiz (Spain). It has never been canceled. It has even continued being celebrated during the Spanish Civil War in the cities of Barcelona and Burgos. Therefore, it makes sense that after more than 200 years of celebration, many anecdotes and curiosities have emerged.

The first lottery tickets began to be sold in the month of July, with number 1 being the ending with the worst luck in all of the lottery history, because it has come out only 8 times since 1812.

However, this Christmas Lottery Draw has not only been held in our country, but has also crossed borders.

In other places the Christmas Lottery is known as ´The Spanish Fat One Christmas Lottery Prize´ and the prize has even been played in foreign cities such as Amsterdam or Buenos Aires.

On the other hand, some Spanish provinces have never been lucky enough to be lucky enough to get the El Gordo (the Fat One Prize), as is the case of Zamora or Ávila, where this Lottery Ticket (tenth) has never been sold.

That year 1957, where the draw was broadcast for the first time, is already far behind, being a totally historical event in our country. Curiously, it was in 1957 when Xavi Gabriel, the founder of La Bruja de Oro was born.

And, once the famous peseta (old Spanish currency) was finally switched to the euro, back in 2002, the duration of the broadcast draw was reduced to 10 minutes, since the figures this time were considerably shorter than they used to be before.

The numbers on the balls are laser engraved. In this way, the paint will not be able to alter their weight in any way. Thus, the heaviest will not be able to get out of the drum earlier.

With regards to numbers, it would be surprising how many people are seeking for numbers that are related to relevant dates in their life. But there are also those who remain totally faithful every year by always buying the same number, since they do not lose hope that there will come a time when they finally hit the jackpot lottery prize. And also those who prefer to let The Golden Witch choose their lottery number.

On the other hand, the most superstitious ones even affirm emphatically that for the Gordo de Navidad (The Fat One) to play, one must get into the Lottery Office with the left foot and that the lottery vendor hand over the ticket with the right hand.

Due to the immense amount of money that can be won with the Spanish National Lottery, all the Lottery Offices that happen to be delivering The Christmas Lottery Jackpot - The Fat One El Gordo de Navidad, the following year are absolutely overwhelmed, since people believe in good faith that Luck will repeat itself again. And in our case it is actually like that, we have given the full Christmas Jackpot El Gordo (The Fat One) Prize for 2 consecutive years. The Saturday Draw Jackpot El Gordo 3 consecutive years, among other historical examples from our Lottery Office, The Golden Witch - The number 1 Lottery in Europe.

There are even those who use to go to places where some catastrophe has occurred, with the faithful belief that luck will end up rewarding them for their misfortune. Although we have always rejected this type of dates as well as the lottery tickets (tenths) with ending 13 because everyone wishes them.

Why do the children of San Ildefonso sing the Christmas Lottery?

In the Christmas Lottery it is very common for the children of San Ildefonso school to sing the numbers as they come out. This school is one of the best known, and also one of the oldest, in Madrid, making it the oldest institution dedicated to childhood in the capital. The children of San Ildefonso have been singing the lottery since it was held for the first time in 1812. Previously, this school only admitted boys, orphaned or abandoned children and for whom the City Council was in charge of providing an education. However, in 1981 with democracy already in place, the San Ildefonso school began to admit girls, who also sang along with the boys in the Lottery Draw that was held in 1984. After more than 200 years of tradition, the children of San Ildefonso are the undisputed in charge of singing the numbers of the Christmas Lottery, since it is what has been done since the birth of the Christmas Lottery itself.

The best moments in the history of the Christmas Lottery

It is not surprising that after so many years of celebrating the Christmas Lottery, great moments have been gathered making the whole country enjoy. Before the Draw was broadcast on television in 1957, it could be followed only on the radio, or at most watching a short deferred summary in any cinema.

There are many people who still remember when the Lottery Prizes were still sung in pesetas (old Spanish currency), the first images that were broadcast in the cinema were collected in the Spanish News of December 31st, 1945.

On the other hand, once the Spanish National Television (1956) was born, the event became historic in Spain, awarding a first prize of 15 million pesetas, even without still having sufficient means at that time to broadcast the Draw with good quality. It was not until 1962 when live broadcasts began to be produced for the entire country. And in 1966, the first draw was finally recorded, preserved in an audiovisual archive of RTVE, and which contains the off-screen comments of the journalist Jesús Álvarez. Despite the generation changes and the evolution of the country, the reality is that there has not been a single year in which the traditional Christmas Lottery has not been celebrated, becoming the official start of the Christmas holidays.