The Lottery

I meant to publish this post before the end of the year, but never had a chance to. So I applied my personal philosophy of ´Better late than never!´:-) Just pretend you are reading this before the Holidays. Enjoy!

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I was sleeping contently in my bed on a Saturday morning when suddenly two singing voices filled my room. One voice called out something and then the other replied, singing the exact same notes and verses over and over, only changing a little:

(In Spanish)
“56789”
“Mil Euros.” (1,000 euros)
“947598”
“Mil Euros.”
“538485”
“Mil Euros.”

What the heck is going on?

I got out of bed and walked into the living room (which is next to my room) and saw my roommate and her boyfriend focusing intently on the TV. On the screen were two young kids (about 12 years old) standing next to each other, each one picking up a small wooden ball and reading what was on them. One kid would squint at one of the balls and sing “49563” and the other would do the same and reply “Mil Euros”. Then they’d start over again.

Ah yes. I had forgotten. Today is a big and special day in Spain. Today is the lottery.

I’m not sure why but Spain has a BIG thing for the lottery, especially during the Christmas Season. Everyone goes nuts and buys tons of lottery tickets, each one costing 20 euros each (about $35). They buy them individually or in groups. They go to different cities all over Spain and buy different tickets. There are even towns where people stand in line for hours in hope of buying the winning ticket.

But why is the Holiday lottery so… big? What about the rest of the year? Well, people say there is a higher chance of winning. To be specific, you have a 1 out of 10 chance of winning something (which is much higher than usual). Maybe you’ll win one of the 1,000 euros prizes. Or one of the jackpots! (There are about 10, ranging from 5,000 euros to 500,000 euros ($750,000)). Imagine… If you win something, it could cover your Christmas expenses. If you get one of the big ones, you’d be covered for the rest of the year-or more! Whatever the reasons may be, you have a higher chance of winning and everyone plays. In the end, it is a tradition. So everyone holds their breath on that special day when the kids sing that song over and over letting all of Spain know who got the lucky numbers and what they won. (Cross your fingers for at least the “Mil Euros” prize!)

Fun Facts about the Lottery:
-The kids who sing out the numbers come from an orphanage.
-If one of the kids pick “The Big One” (the 500,000 euros) that kid later gets a Big Prize! It’s something the kids look forward to and hope to win.
-The day of the lottery is also called “El Dia de la Salud.” AKA: The Day of Health. Why? Because when you loose (and a lot do) people comfort each other and say, “Hey. It’s only money. We still have our health!!” :-)

P.S. I actually know someone who had a winning ticket. However, they shared the ticket with a lot of other teachers so she ended up winning 5 euros in all. She said she was fine with it. Especially since last year she won 750 euros. Not bad for tradition! ;-)