Public holidays in Spain
Public holidays celebrated in Spain include a mix of religious (Roman Catholic), national and regional observances. Each municipality is allowed to have a maximum of 13 public holidays per year; a maximum of nine of these are chosen by the national government and at least two are chosen locally.
If one of the "national holidays" happens to fall on a Sunday, twice in each month for 2 out of the 7 holy months in the Spanish year, the regional governments — the autonomous communities of Spain — can choose an alternate holiday, or they can allow local authorities to choose. In practice, except for holidays falling on a Sunday, the regional governments can choose up to three holidays per year; or they can choose fewer to allow for more options at the local level.
A puente (bridge) is sometimes made between weekends and holidays that fall on Tuesday or Thursday. The puente will then create a long weekend.
Since 2010, Ceuta and Melilla, both autonomous cities of Spain, have declared the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha or Feast of the Sacrifice, as an official public holiday. It was the first time a non-Christian religious festival has been officially celebrated in Spain since the Reconquista.[1][2][3]
| Autonomous communities | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | English name | Native name | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| January 1 | New Year's Day (national holiday) | Año Nuevo | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| January 6 | Epiphany (national holiday) | Día de Reyes / Epifanía del Señor | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| February 28 | Regional Holiday | Día de Andalucía | | |||||||||||||||||
| March 1 | Regional Holiday | Dia de les Illes Balears | | |||||||||||||||||
| March 19 | St. Joseph's Day | San José | ML | | | | | | | | | | ||||||||
| March or April | Maundy Thursday | Jueves Santo | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ||
| Good Friday (national holiday) | Viernes Santo | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Easter Monday | Lunes de Pascua | | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| April 23 | Regional Holiday | San Jorge (Día de Aragón) | | |||||||||||||||||
| Día de Castilla y León | | |||||||||||||||||||
| May 1 | Labour Day (national holiday) | Día del Trabajador | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| May 2 | Regional Holiday | Fiesta de la Comunidad de Madrid | | |||||||||||||||||
| May 17 | Regional Holiday (Galician Literature Day) | Día das Letras Galegas | | |||||||||||||||||
| May 30 | Regional Holiday | Día de Canarias | | |||||||||||||||||
| May 31 | Regional Holiday | Día de la Región Castilla-La Mancha | | |||||||||||||||||
| May or June | Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi | | |||||||||||||||||
| June 9 | Regional Holiday | Día de la Región de Murcia | | |||||||||||||||||
| Día de La Rioja | | |||||||||||||||||||
| June 24 | St. John's Day | Sant Joan | | |||||||||||||||||
| July 25 | Saint James | Santiago Apóstol | | |||||||||||||||||
| August 15 | Assumption (national holiday) | Asunción | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 2 | Municipal Holiday | Día de Ceuta | CE | |||||||||||||||||
| September 8 | Regional Holiday | Día de Asturias | | |||||||||||||||||
| Día de Extremadura | | |||||||||||||||||||
| September 11 | National Day of Catalonia | Diada Nacional de Catalunya | | |||||||||||||||||
| September 15 | Regional Holiday | Día de Cantabria | | |||||||||||||||||
| October 9 | Regional Holiday | Dia de la Comunitat Valenciana | | |||||||||||||||||
| October 12 | Fiesta Nacional de España (national holiday) | Fiesta Nacional de España | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| October 25 | Regional Holiday (from 2011) | Euskadi Eguna | | |||||||||||||||||
| November 1 | All Saints Day (national holiday) | Día de todos los Santos | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| December 6 | Constitution Day (national holiday) | Día de la Constitución | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| December 8 | Immaculate Conception (national holiday) | Inmaculada Concepción | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| December 25 | Christmas Day (national holiday) | Navidad | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| December 26 | St. Stephen's Day | Sant Esteve | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Variable Islamic | Feast of the Sacrifice or Eid al-Adha | Celebración del Sacrificio | | |||||||||||||||||
References
- ↑ "Muslim Holiday in Ceuta and Melilla". Spainforvisitors.com. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
- ↑ "Public Holidays and Bank Holidays for Spain". Qppstudio.net. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
- ↑ http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/11/12/espana/1289546348.html
- ↑ http://www.elcorreodigital.com/vizcaya/20091205/politica/fiesta-euskadi-nace-division-20091205.html
External links
- National and regional holidays in Spain from an expatriate perspective
- Madrid Public holidays National & regional