Festivos

Over the weekend, I was asked multiple times if Spain celebrated Halloween.  The answer to every question was yes.  Halloween is celebrated here like it is at home: costumes and trick-or-treating.  So after hearing this same question time and time again, I decided that I wanted to do a blog post about "los festivos" or the holidays. So, here is some facts and information about different holidays:

1. Spain celebrates all the same major holidays such as New Years Eve and Day, Easter and Good Friday, and Christmas.

2. In addition to Christmas, Spaniards celebrate the "Three Kings Day" which symbolizes when the three kings brought Jesus gifts after his birth.  Children leave their shoes out the night before and in the morning they find candy from "the kings."  That day, there are parades throughout Spain.

3. Spain has a Labour Day but it is on May 1.

4.  Most areas have a community day.  I made a post about Valencia's Community Day in early October.  There is also a National Spain Day which was on the same weekend as Valencia's Community Day.

5. "Las Fallas" is a holiday only in Valencia during the spring where artists make these beautiful paper mache characters and at the end of the festival, all of them are burned.  (Fallas pictured to the right).

6.  In December, there is a Constitution Day.

7. There are many public holidays dedicated to Saints.