Public holidays in Spain


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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

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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          
6 January Epiphany Epifanía del Señor                                      
21 February Shrove Tuesday Martes de Carnaval  
28 February Andalusia Day Día de Andalucía  
1 March Day of the Balearic Islands Dia de las Islas Baleares  
20 March Monday following St. Joseph's Day Lunes siguiente a San José[5]  
6 April Maundy Thursday Jueves Santo                                  
7 April Good Friday Viernes Santo                                      
10 April Easter Monday Lunes de Pascua            
21 April Eid al-Fitr Ruptura del Ayuno  
23 April Aragon and Castilla y León National Day San Jorge o Diya d’Aragón|Día de Castilla y León Patronage festivity  
1 May Labour Day Día del Trabajador                                      
2 May Madrid Day Fiesta de la Comunidad de Madrid  
17 May Galician Literature Day Día de las Letras Gallegas  
30 May Day of the Canary Islands Día de Canarias  
31 May Castilla-La Mancha Day Día de Castilla-La Mancha  
8 June Feast of Corpus Christi Corpus Christi  
9 June Regional Day Día de la Región de Murcia Statute-of-Autonomy commemoration  
Día de La Rioja  
13 June St. Anthony's Day San Antonio  
24 June John the Baptist San Juan    
25 July Galician National Day Santiago Apóstol o Día da Patria Galega Patronage festivity  
28 July Cantabria Institutions Day Día de las Instituciones de Cantabria  
5 August Santa Maria of Africa Santa María de África  
15 August Assumption Asunción                                      
16 August San Roque San Roque  
22 August Eid al-Adha Celebración del Sacrificio Variable Islamic    
2 September Ceuta Day Día de Ceuta  
8 September Regional Day Día de Asturias Patronage festivity  
Día de Extremadura  
11 September National Day of Catalonia Diada Nacional de Catalunya Historical account  
15 September Our Lady of the “Bien Aparecida” La Bien Aparecida Customs-and-traditions exaltation  
17 September Municipal Day Día de Melilla Historical account  
9 October Day of the Valencian Community Dia de la Comunitat Valenciana  
12 October National Day Fiesta Nacional de España                                      
25 October Basque National Day Euskadi Eguna[6] Statute-of-Autonomy commemoration  
1 November All Saints' Day Día de todos los Santos                                      
6 December Constitution Day Dia de la Constitucion Espanola                                      
8 December Immaculate Conception Inmaculada Concepción                                      
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  
25 December Christmas Day Navidad                                      
26 December St. Stephen's Day Sant Esteve  
Total holidays 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 16 14
  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.