Public holidays in Spain

Summary

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 14 public holidays per year; a maximum of nine of these are chosen by the national government and at least two are chosen locally, including patronal festivals.

If one of the "national holidays" happens to fall on a Sunday 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.

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]

When a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday. some workers take a day off (the Monday or the Friday) to make a four-day long weekend known as a puente ("bridge").

Spanish holidays 2023 edit

The following table lists the holidays for the year 2023:[4]

Autonomous communities Autonomous cities
Date English name Native name Notes                                      
1 January New Year's Day Año Nuevo It is not a public holiday in 2023 because it is Sunday.
2 January Monday following New Year's Day Lunes siguiente a Año Nuevo  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
6 January Epiphany Epifanía del Señor  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
21 February Shrove Tuesday Martes de Carnaval  Y
28 February Andalusia Day Día de Andalucía  Y
1 March Day of the Balearic Islands Dia de las Islas Baleares  Y
20 March Monday following St. Joseph's Day Lunes siguiente a San José[5]  Y
6 April Maundy Thursday Jueves Santo  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
7 April Good Friday Viernes Santo  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
10 April Easter Monday Lunes de Pascua  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
21 April Eid al-Fitr Ruptura del Ayuno  Y
23 April Aragon National Day San Jorge o Diya d’Aragón Patronage festivity  Y
1 May Labour Day Día del Trabajador  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
2 May Madrid Day Fiesta de la Comunidad de Madrid  Y
17 May Galician Literature Day Día de las Letras Gallegas  Y
30 May Day of the Canary Islands Día de Canarias  Y
31 May Castilla-La Mancha Day Día de Castilla-La Mancha  Y
8 June Feast of Corpus Christi Corpus Christi  Y
9 June Regional Day Día de la Región de Murcia Statute-of-Autonomy commemoration  Y
Día de La Rioja  Y
13 June St. Anthony's Day San Antonio  Y
24 June John the Baptist San Juan  Y  Y
25 July Galician National Day Santiago Apóstol o Día da Patria Galega Patronage festivity  Y
28 July Cantabria Institutions Day Día de las Instituciones de Cantabria  Y
5 August Santa Maria of Africa Santa María de África  Y
15 August Assumption Asunción  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
22 August Feast of the Sacrifice or Eid al-Adha Celebración del Sacrificio Variable Islamic  Y  Y
2 September Ceuta Day Día de Ceuta  Y
8 September Regional Day Día de Asturias Patronage festivity  Y
Día de Extremadura  Y
11 September National Day of Catalonia Diada Nacional de Catalunya Historical account  Y
15 September Our Lady of the “Bien Aparecida” La Bien Aparecida Customs-and-traditions exaltation  Y
17 September Municipal Day Día de Melilla Historical account  Y
9 October Day of the Valencian Community Dia de la Comunitat Valenciana  Y
12 October National Day Fiesta Nacional de España  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
25 October Basque National Day Euskadi Eguna[6] Statute-of-Autonomy commemoration  Y
1 November All Saints' Day Día de todos los Santos  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
6 December Constitution Day Dia de la Constitucion Espanola  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
8 December Immaculate Conception Inmaculada Concepción  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
20 December Aragon Ombudsman Day Día del Justicia de Aragón[7] Tribute to the historical figure of Juan de Lanuza y Urrea, who was beheaded for defending the rights and freedoms of the Aragonese people  Y
25 December Christmas Day Navidad  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y
26 December St. Stephen's Day Sant Esteve  Y
Total holidays 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 16 14

References edit

  1. ^ "Muslim Holiday in Ceuta and Melilla". Spainforvisitors.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Public Holidays and Bank Holidays for Spain". Qppstudio.net. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  3. ^ Internet, Unidad Editorial. "La fiesta grande de los musulmanes, oficial por primera vez en España - España - elmundo.es". www.elmundo.es.
  4. ^ CEF, El. "Calendario de fiestas laborales estatal, comunidades autónomas y fiestas locales". www.laboral-social.com/.
  5. ^ El Mundo (19 March 2018). "Este año San José es sólo festivo en la Comunidad Valenciana y Murcia | España". Elmundo.es. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  6. ^ Correo, El (5 December 2009). "La fiesta del Día de Euskadi nace con división. El Correo". www.elcorreodigital.com.
  7. ^ Heraldo de Aragón, El. "El Justicia conmemora este jueves el 427 aniversario de la ejecución de Juan de Lanuza V. El Heraldo de Aragón". www.heraldo.es.

External links edit

  • National and regional holidays in Spain from an expatriate perspective
  • Madrid Public holidays National & regional
  • Public Holidays in Barcelona
  • Public Holidays in Spain 2020