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

References

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  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.
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