Spain, with an unemployment rate of 26 percent, gave $3.4 billion to the country's Christmas lottery winnings to thousands of unsuspecting residents Sunday. The famed holiday lottery is the richest in the world, according to the Associated Press. 

Unlike U.S. lotteries that give one large jackpot, Spain's Christmas lottery spreads out the winnings. The lottery's highest prize, "El Gordo (The Fat One) awards $546,200 per ticket, followed by the second largest prize at $170,700, the Associated Press reported. Together the big winnings and smaller prizes amount to a little over $3 billion.

The winnings were announced over a live, four-hour TV show. Raul Clavero, a 27-year-old mechanic from a Madrid suburb, said he was in bed watching the drawing when he realized he had a winning ticket.

"We jumped out of bed and ran out" Clavero told the AP. Clavero said he would "pay the mortgage, that's the first thing, and then just enjoy the rest." Four other members of his family also bought winning lottery tickets.

This year's winning tickets were sold in at least eight other locations, including Madrid, Barcelona and Modragon. Modragon, an industrial city in the north, is the same place where appliance manufacturer Fagor Electrodomesticos filed for bankruptcy in October, the AP reported. Two thousand people were laid off.  

Spain's Christmas lottery, a tradition for 200 years, is a source of excitement and hope for Spain's 46 million population, CBS News reported. But this year for the first time, the government will take 20 percent the winnings that are above $3,400 to help bolster the Spain's failing economy.

One winner, Afonso Martinez said the bosses at the travel company where he used to work just disappeared, CBS News reported. The company closed down, offering no severance pay.

Jesus Lorente, another second-prize winner, said he would use the money to "plug gaps" in his finances, the AP reported.

"The ticket is stored in a safe place at home," he said.