Spain’s ‘Fat One’ Christmas lottery gives out over $2.8B

They’re excited to get fattened up this Christmas.

Spain on Friday announced the lucky numbers in its annual festive lottery draw known as “the Fat One” — with many people sharing more than $2.8 billion in holiday cheer.

The lucky numbers – 88008 – were sung by children from the San Ildefonso school in Madrid and broadcast on the television, radio, and internet Friday morning in the draw that traditionally marks the start of the festive season.

Officials said that multiple people in several regions picked the winning numbers, with each winning $440,000.

That is just part of the total pool of prizes of around $2.8 billion in “El Gordo,” or “the Fat One,” a tradition that has been around since 1812.

The draw is held each year on Dec. 22, and typically elicits nationwide nationwide celebrations as winners pop open sparkling wine and invite their friends to join them in song and dance throughout the streets.

Buying and sharing tickets – known as “décimos,” or tenths – before Christmas is a tradition among Spanish families, friends, co-workers, and even in bars and social clubs.

In the week running up to the results, long lines form outside lottery offices as people scramble for a chance to win big.

Offices that sold winning tickets in the past typically have especially long queues.

On the big day, children from San Ildefonso appear in a broadcast from Madrid’s Teatro Real opera house, where they sing out the winning numbers and their prizes in a particular rhythm that is known throughout the country.

While other lotteries have heftier individual prizes, Spain’s Christmas lottery is considered the world’s richest given the total prize money involved, according to NPR.

It has been especially popular since Spain’s economic crisis 11 years ago. Instead of splurging on big-ticket items like sports cars or mansions, many winners use the cash just to keep their families afloat.

José Manuel Penella, of Sodeto, won over $400,000 in the 2012 draw – and used the funds to expand his family’s business and help his son buy a house nearby, he told Euronews.

“When you win the lottery everyone thinks you’re going to the Caribbean, but that wasn’t the case here, everyone was obsessed with their profession and being able to work. There is no ostentation of luxury, but the quality of life has improved,” he explained.

The lottery tradition dates back to 1812, when Spain was under French occupation during the Napoleonic Wars and the draw was designed to raise funds to fight.

With Post wires