A brother and sister play on the shore of a beach. Suddenly, they both stop with their eyes fixed on a very specific point. They have seen a fish, or so they believe. So they come out of the water and run at full speed across the sand to tell their parents, who are lying on hammocks.

Their father barely looks up from his book. But the mother, who had been dozing, awakens from her slumbers with the shouts of her children. The family decide to take a swim together. Although they are in a hurry today. There are only a few days left until Christmas and the plan was to use the afternoon to go shopping.

Christmas? Swimming at the beach? Yes, these two terms can have room in the same story, at least when writing about Gran Canaria. The sharp claws of the cold that travels across Europe do not reach here. Let's go back to the beach. We see people walking on the sand, enjoying the warmth of the temperature, oblivious and indifferent to the calendar.The spirit of Christmas also lives in Gran Canaria, although here we should not imagine it as an icy character who shivers and breathes out steam. But then, where is the Christmas spirit of the island? Everywhere, we could say. It shows for exams when someone visiting from elsewhere in Europe during December of January packs their suitcase with shorts, sunscreen, swimming goggles, and hiking boots.

On Gran Canaria, Christmas is chilled as in relaxed rather than chilly as in cold. True, the island has its fair share of shops laden with gifts, seasonal treats on the food front, Christmas trees, and streets shining bright at night with festive lights. However, there’s nothing like looking up at the clean evening sky to easily locate the Christmas Star.

Here the spirit of Christmas is a surfer, a beach bum. Festive means warm on Gran Canaria. Let's go back to the beach at the beginning. The family are still there. They have now left the water though and are heading towards the hotel. The boy and the girl continue to assure themselves that they saw a fish, which had as many colours as the rainbow. Yet another winter’s tale to tell their friends on their return from holiday.