Christmas will look very different in Spain this year as the country battles a second wave of COVID-19 - but one long standing tradition has held firm.

Millions of Spaniards buy tickets for the Spanish state lottery every Christmas in the hope of winning a fortune and changing theirs.

In Madrid, people stood in line for hours and braved wintry conditions this weekend to buy a ticket from the legendary Doña Manolita lottery shop.

Shop assistant Lisette Pardo Orellana was one of those standing in the queue and explained why Dona Manolita is her lucky store.

She told AFP: "We have a tradition of coming and taking it here, and the truth is that every time we have bought tickets here - it's the third year I have done so - it has touched something, which is why we do not break the tradition of coming to buy them here on the tenth."

Alvés Jesús, an air conditioning installer in the Spanish capital, set an early alarm to ensure he was one of the first to arrive.

He said: "I was here from around 6 a.m, I arrived first otherwise the queue is more or less 4 km."

But some of those who joined the queues expressed concerns about a lack of social distancing in as cases continue to rise across Spain. 

Mario Gómez, who works as a teacher in Madrid, said: "Well, I've been waiting in line for two hours, and the (security) measures were respected a lot less at the end, a bit more at the start, and most people are tired.The truth is that there were no police or security personnel to ensure social distancing."

The winning lottery tickets will be revealed during the draw on December 22, providing people with a glimmer of hope at the end of a tough year for the country.