MADRID — Winners of Spain’s Christmas lottery — the world’s richest — celebrated yesterday in a dozen-plus locations where the top lucky tickets were sold, a moment of cheer for a nation in economic hardship.

Champagne corks popped in 15 towns or cities where tickets yielding the maximum prize of $530,000 had been bought. In total, the lottery sprinkled a treasure chest of $3.3 billion in prize money across the country.