Most festivals in Spain are religious in origin, but nowadays the religious component is usually secondary to the general spirit of celebration. Spain has dozens of festivals and most towns have their own in addition to the national ones. 

 

Public Holidays
2008
1 Jan New Year's Day.
6 Jan* Epiphany.
19 Mar* San Jose.
20 Mar* Maundy Thursday. 
21 Mar Good Friday.
1 May Labour Day.
15 Aug Assumption.
12 Oct National Day.
1 Nov All Saints' Day.
6 Dec Constitution Day.
8 Dec Immaculate Conception.
25 Dec Christmas Day.

(a) *These holidays may be replaced by the autonomous communities with another date.

(b) Additional dates are celebrated as regional public holidays. These vary from region to region.

January 
Reyes Magos, known as the Epiphany in English, is celebrated throughout Spain on January 6. Gifts are distributed and the evening of January 5 is a time of tremendous excitement for children. Floats, bands and dancers take to the streets of the major towns and cities. 
Fiestas de San Antonio Abad is celebrated in Mallorca on January 17 with bonfires. Traditionally youths compete over a cockrell placed at the top of a greased pole, the 'Pi de Sant Antoni'. 

February 
A carnival is held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, during the second week of February with fancy-dress parades and musicians. Carnivals are held throughout Spain at Shrovetide before Lent. 
Pero Palo celebrations are held in Caceres, Extremadura late in February. The community gathers to share old traditions and legends. 

March 
Fallas de San Jose is held in Valencia just before spring. Bonfires are built and there's an interesting night-time parade. 
Semana Santa or Easter Holy Week is one of the most important festivals in Spain. Processions and concerts are held throughout the country. Seville's Semana Santa is one of Spain's most enjoyable festivals. 

April
An April Fair is held in Seville. 
Fiesta de Moros y Cristianos, also known as the Moors and Christians, is celebrated across Spain. Alcoy in Alicante puts on an interesting display with battles, processions, speeches, plays and dances. Groups of Moors and Christians drive through the town accompanied by noisy bands. A battle ensues accompanied by fireworks and the ringing of bells. 
Barcelona is the venue of a spectacular festival in late April. The festival honors St. Jordi, who is the patron saint of Catalonia. 

May 
Crosses of flowers are set up throughout the village of Cieza, in Murcia, on Dia de la Cruz or Holy Cross day. 
A procession to celebrate Corpus Christi is held in Toledo. 

June 
The pagan festival of Hogueras de San Juan is held in Alicante. The streets are often decorated with branches and leaves, straw effigies are burnt, pilgrimages are undertaken, the herb thyme is blessed and sanjuanera songs are sung. 

July 
The immensely exciting Fiesta de San Fermin, or the Running of the Bulls, is held in Pamplona early in July. 

August
On the north coast, Semana Grande is held during August. 

September 
For three days during the Festival Internacional de Folklore en el Mediterraneo (International Festival of Mediterranean Folklore) you can experience the songs, traditions, dances, dresses and general folklore of many Mediterranean cultures. 
Fiestas de la Vendimia Riojana, also known as the La Rioja Wine Festival, centres around the harvesting of the grapes. 
Barcelona's festival of La Merce, patron saint of the city, takes place around September 24.

October 
The feast of El Pilar is held in Zaragoza, Aragon

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