Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub-Editor:  Joana Mihajlovska, Agency: Newsflash

With the pandemic restricting people’s ability to go out and enjoy the Christmas decorations, one village in southern Spain has decided to spend the money on wine and good food to help locals celebrate at home.

The council in Parauta, a village located in the Ronda mountain range with 253 households in the southern Spanish province of Malaga, said they decided there was no point putting up the Christmas lights this year but still wanted to do something festive for locals.

As a result, they decided to use the money to buy an expensive joint of Iberian ham and other cold meats of the highest quality to hand out to residents as a treat.

Village mayor Katrin Ortega told the newspaper Diario Sur: “This year, Parauta has decided not to have Christmas lights in solidarity with the current situation we are living in (the pandemic)”.

She added that every family in the village will instead receive Iberian ham and cold meats, saying: “We want all of us we have the same right to enjoy a decent feast during this period.”

The mayor commented that the initiative has been well received and that lot of people said they wished they were living in the village.

She added: “It is way of cheering up locals and all of them have the right to some enjoyment this holiday period. There are people who have never tried top-quality Iberian ham in their lives.”

The Christmas gift includes ‘pata negra’ ham, chorizo sausages, Iberian spicy sausage, and wine from the region.

One local said that everyone was really happy about the decision, telling local newspaper Nius Diario: “Lights, while we are locked up at home, are useless.

“At least this gift gives us joy.”

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