Cultural Holidays in Spain
The list below shows the national public holidays in Spain, and other festivities that are only observed in the Madrid Autonomous Community. Additionally, you’ll find a description of all the festivities by simply clicking on any of them.
| January 1st |
Año Nuevo (New Year’s Eve) |
| January 6th | Día de Reyes (Three King´s Day) |
| March 19th | Día de San José (St. Joseph´s Day) |
| Jueves Santo (Holy Thursday) | |
| Viernes Santo (Good Friday) | |
| May 1st |
Día del Trabajador (Labor Day) |
| May 2nd |
Fiesta de la Comunidad de Madrid (Madrid local holiday) *Madrid only. |
| May 15th |
Día de San Isidro (The Festivities of San Isidro) *Madrid only. |
| August 15th | Fiestas de la Virgen de la Paloma. (The Assumption) *Madrid only. |
| October 12th | Día de la Hispanidad (Hispanic Heritage Day) |
| November 1st |
Día de todos los Santos (All Saint’s Day) |
| November 9th |
Día de la Almudena (Almudena Day) *Madrid only. |
| December 6th |
Día de la Constitución (Consitution Day) |
| December 8th |
Día de la Inmaculada Concepción (The Feast of the Immaculate Conception) |
| December 25th |
Día de Navidad. (Christmas Holiday) |
MADRID
San Isidro
The festival of San Isidro, the patron Saint of Madrid, is one of the most renowned festivals in the city. It is centered precisely in the district of San Isidro, a barrio in the southwest of Madrid, and takes place on May 15th. The Pradera de San Isidro is a huge outdoor fair with food and activities in the early springtime. It is tradition to wear the madrileño outfits of chulapos and goyescos and to dance the choti. The rosquilla is a delicious cookie typical of the festival that comes in three main forms: the tonta (plain), lista (with flavored icing), or Santa Clara (topped with meringue). This is also one of the biggest days in bullfighting with top toreros headlining in Las Ventas, Madrid´s bullfighting rink.
San Antonio de la Florida
The chapel of San Antonio de la Florida is a hidden gem in Madrid. It contains Goya´s frescos of the miracle of San Antonio, but the curious part is that the scene has been translated from 13th century Lisbon to 18th century Madrid. The chapel, built in 1792, is of such cultural importance that a replica in which religious services were to be held was built for preservation purposes. Additionally, the chapel houses Goya´s remains, and it is the starting point for the procession of San Antonio.
This procession is held June 13th in the Moncloa district. A tradition associated with the festival involves putting one´s hand in the chapel´s baptismal font and seeing how many straight pins stick. The number of pins corresponds either to the number of suitors one will have in that year or the number of children one will have.
Fiestas de la Paloma
Celebrated on August 15th, the verbena de la Paloma is recognized as one of the biggest festival days in the otherwise slow summer month of August. The fiestas commemorate an icon of the Virgin Mary that a woman salvaged from some children playing in the street – specifically, Calle Paloma. The statue became a focal point of adoration, and not long after a chapel was built to house it. Now the festivals are celebrated all over the neighborhood of La Latina.
SPAIN
San Fermín
The festival of San Fermín, one of the most iconic of Spain, takes place annually in Pamplona from July 6th to 14th and dates back to the 12th century. It is most famous for the running of the bulls, popularized internationally by Hemingway´s The Sun Also Rises. However, this is only one of many folkloric events in the weeklong festival that attracts over 1 million visitors each year.
Las Fallas
Las Fallas are a weeklong festival in Valencia during March. They celebrate Saint Joseph and are most recognized for the papier-mâché figures made specifically for the festival. They are in the forms of popular figures, both traditional and modern, that are satirized, and in the course of the celebration they are set on fire.
La Tomatina
La Tomatina is a spirited festival held on the last Wednesday of August in Buñol. The custom began with a schoolboy fight in a market in 1945, and the tradition grew among the people since then. Now it is an organized festival with several events, the culmination of which is the classic hour-long tomato fight, with about 150,000 tomatoes.
La Feria de Sevilla
This fair, usually held two weeks after Semana Santa (Easter Week), started as a livestock fair in 1847 but quickly became a more lively celebration with food and other events. Festival-goers may wear traditional dress, the traje corto with the sombrero cordobés for men and the traje de flamenco for women. A notable part of the fair´s tents is that you need to be invited to enter.
La Feria de Córdoba
The Cordoba Spring Fair, otherwise known as the Feria de Nuestra Señora de la Salud, takes place during the last week of May and dates back to 1284. It began as a livestock fair on Pentecost Sunday and is very similar to the Feria of Sevilla, but is smaller and has public casetas not requiring an invitation.