El Gordo 2025: On December 22, all of Spain pauses for the Christmas miracle
El Gordo 2025: On December 22, all of Spain pauses for the Christmas miracle
The Lotería de Navidad, affectionately known as El Gordo ("The Fat One"), has been around for over 200 years — since 1812! It's not just a lottery draw, but a true national tradition without which Christmas doesn't truly begin in Spain.
In 2025, the prize pool will reach 2.772 billion euros. The top prize is 4 million euros per series (400,000 euros for a décimo — one-tenth of a ticket).
Spaniards rarely buy full tickets alone; instead, they share them with family, colleagues, friends, or even an entire bar. After all, winning (and even losing) together is much more fun!
From summer on, queues form at famous lottery kiosks, especially at the legendary Doña Manolita in Madrid — lines stretch for blocks, with people coming from other cities and even camping overnight for a "lucky" number.
On December 22, the country comes to a standstill: live broadcasts from the Teatro Real in Madrid air on all channels. Children from the San Ildefonso school sing out the winning numbers — their melodic chant has become a symbol of the holiday.
When an entire town or neighborhood wins, work stops: champagne flows in the streets, strangers embrace, and music and dancing break out! A recent example of luck: on Tenerife, there’s a real "gas station of luck" — La Chasnera in Granadilla de Abona (kilometer 54 of highway TF-1). This gas station has delivered prizes in the Christmas lottery for over 10 consecutive years! In 2024, it sold tickets that won third, fourth, and fifth prizes — millions of euros went home with lucky winners. This year, the island has already seen wins in other lotteries: for instance, in December, a ticket from Santa Cruz de Tenerife won over 156,000 euros in El Gordo de la Primitiva. People specifically stop by to "refuel with luck" — the lines here are no shorter than at Doña Manolita!
El Gordo isn’t just about money. It’s about hope, about "what if?", about a shared dream.
As Spaniards say: if you didn’t buy a ticket, you didn’t truly celebrate Christmas
Have you already picked your number for December 22? Or are you just waiting for the miracle on TV?