Public holidays celebrated in Spain include a mix of religious (Roman Catholic), national and regional observances. Each municipality is allowed to declare a maximum of 14 public holidays per year; up to nine of these are chosen by the national government and at least two are chosen locally.
If one of the nine "national holidays" falls on a Sunday, the regional governments — the autonomous communities of Spain — can choose its replacement, or can let local authorities choose on their own. In practice, barring holidays falling on Sunday, the regional governments can pick up to three holidays per year; they also can deliberately choose fewer than three to allow for more options at the local level.
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National holidays
| Date | English name | Spanish name |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | Año Nuevo |
| moveable | Good Friday | Viernes Santo |
| May 1 | Labor Day | Día del Trabajador |
| August 15 | Assumption of Mary | Asunción |
| October 12 | Hispanic Day | Día de la Hispanidad/Fiesta Nacional |
| November 1 | All Saints Day | Día de todos los Santos |
| December 6 | Constitution Day | Día de la Constitución |
| December 8 | Immaculate Conception | Inmaculada Concepción |
| December 25 | Christmas Day | Navidad |
Regional holidays
Days celebrating the autonomy of individual regions are celebrated in Andalucía (Día de Andalucía, February 28), Aragón (Día de Aragón, April 23), Asturias (Día de Asturias, September 8), the Balearic Islands (Dia de les Illes Balears, March 1), the Canary Islands (Día de las Canarias, May 30), Castile-La Mancha (Día de la Región Castilla-La Mancha, May 31), Castile and León (Día de Castilla y León, April 23), Catalonia (Festa Nacional de Catalunya, September 11), Euskadi, The Basque Country ( Euskadi Eguna - Day of the Basque Country , 25 October, from 2011[1]), Extremadura (Día de Extremadura, September 8), Madrid (Fiesta de la Comunidad, May 2), Murcia (Día de la Región de Murcia, June 9), La Rioja (Día de La Rioja, June 9), Valencia (Día de la Comunitat Valenciana, October 9), and the city of Ceuta (Día de Ceuta, September 2)
The list of other holidays celebrated by the autonomous communities changes every year, partly because of national holidays falling on Sundays. Other regional holidays celebrated in both 2006 and 2007 include:
| Date | English name | Spanish name | Where celebrated |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 6 | Epiphany | Día de Reyes or Epifanía del Señor | Although not considered a "national" holiday, declared a "regional" holiday in all 17 regions |
| March 19 | Father's Day | San José | Castile-La Mancha, Madrid, Murcia and Valencia |
| moveable | Holy Thursday | Jueves Santo | All regions except Canary Islands, Catalonia and Valencia |
| moveable | Easter Monday | Lunes de Pascua | Basque Country, Catalonia, Navarra, Valencia |
| April 23 | St. George's Day and Castile and León Day | San Jorge (Aragon and Catalonia), Día de Castilla y León (Castile and León) | Aragon, Catalonia, Castile and León |
| June 24 | St. John's Day | Sant Joan (Catalan) | Catalonia |
| July 25 | St. James Day | Santiago Apostol | Basque Country, Galicia |
| September 8 | Covadonga and Guadalupe Day | Día de Asturias y Extremadura | Asturias, Extremadura |
| December 26 | St. Stephen's Day | San Esteban or Segundo día de Navidada | Balearic Islands, Catalonia |
In 2006, to make up for New Year's Day falling on a Sunday, Santiago Apostol was marked in the Basque Country, Catalonia, Navarre and parts of the Canary Islands; San José was celebrated in Valencia, Castile-La Mancha and Madrid; Easter Monday was a holiday in La Rioja; Catalonia celebrated San Juan ("St. John's Day") on June 24; and Galicia marked the Galician Literature Day ("Día das Letras Galegas") on May 17.
References
External links
- National and regional holidays in Spain from an expatriate perspective
- Madrid Public holidays National & regional
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