This article is written like a travel guide. Please help improve the article by introducing an encyclopedic style or move the content to Wikivoyage.(October 2022)
National Day of Spain
Official name
Fiesta Nacional de España
Observed by
Spain
Date
12 October
Next time
12 October 2024 (2024-10-12)
Frequency
Annual
The coat of arms of Spain displays the symbols of both medieval and modern Spain and the key transition event between them, the discovery of the New World, represented by the motto "PLUS ULTRA" (further beyond), replacing the previous one, "NON PLUS ULTRA" (nothing further beyond) the Pillars of Hercules (today's Strait of Gibraltar) which marked the edge of the known world since Antiquity.
The National Day of Spain (Spanish: Fiesta Nacional de España) is a national holiday held annually on 12 October. It is also traditionally and commonly referred to as the Día de la Hispanidad (Hispanicity, Spanishness Day[1]), commemorating Spanish legacy worldwide, especially in Hispanic America.[2]
The National Day of Spain is the day of celebration on which the Spanish people commemorate the country's history, recognize and appreciate achievements, reconfirm their commitment to the nation's future. The day celebrates unity and fraternity, and also shows Spain's ties with the international community.[3][4][5][2]
Spanish law declares
" The date chosen, 12 October, symbolizes the historical anniversary on which Spain, about to conclude a process of State construction based on our cultural and political diversity, and the integration of the kingdoms of Spain into the same monarchy, begins a period of linguistic and cultural projection beyond the boundaries of Europe. "[6]
National Day of Spain commemorates the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus for Spain on 12 October 1492. The date is a key point for Spain's overseas influence and legacy to the world and to the Americas in particular. It symbolizes Spain's vast, common heritage with today's American countries, which made up the Spanish Empire, the first global power in world history.[7]
12 October is also the official Spanish language day, the Feasts of both Our Lady of the Pillar and the Virgin of Zapopan as well as the Day of the Spanish Armed Forces.[8]
12 October is also an official holiday in much of Hispanic America, though under varying names (Día de la Hispanidad, Día de la Raza, Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural, Día de la Resistencia Indígena, etc.). To varying degrees, these holidays celebrate the historical and cultural ties among Hispanic American countries, ties between them and Spain, and their common Hispanic and pre-Hispanic indigenous American heritage. Furthermore, on the second Monday in October, the United States celebrates Columbus Day.[9][10]
^ abPaloma Aguilar, Carsten Humlebæk, "Collective Memory and National Identity in the Spanish Democracy: The Legacies of Francoism and the Civil War", History & Memory, April 1, 2002, pag. 121–164
^David MARCILHACY «América como factor de regeneración y cohesión para una España plural: "la Raza" y el 12 de octubre, cimientos de una identidad compuesta», Hispania (Madrid), vol. LXXIII, no. 244 (mayo-ag. 2013), p. 501-524
^David Marcilhacy "LA PÉNINSULE IBÉRIQUE ET LE MARE NOSTRUM ATLANTIQUE: IBÉRISME, HISPANISME ET AMÉRICANISME SOUS LE RÈGNE D'ALPHONSE XIII DE BOURBON" Revista de História das Ideias, Vol. 31 (2010), pags. 121–154
^"Día de la Fiesta Nacional | 12 de octubre | Ministerio de Defensa".
^Cite error: The named reference Decree was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Thomas, Hugh (11 August 2015). World Without End: Spain, Philip II, and the First Global Empire. Random House. pp. 496 pages. ISBN 0812998111
^Cite error: The named reference Fuller was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Congress, The Library of; Administration, National Archives and Records; Humanities, National Endowment for the; Art, National Gallery of; Service, National Park; Institution, US Smithsonian; Museum, US Holocaust Memorial. "National Hispanic American Heritage Month 2021". www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov.
^"Hispanic History Milestones: Timeline". 15 September 2023.
and 25 Related for: National Day of Spain information
The NationalDayofSpain (Spanish: Fiesta Nacional de España) is a national holiday held annually on 12 October. It is also traditionally and commonly...
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...
A nationalday is a day on which celebrations mark the statehood or nationhood of a state or its people. It may be the date of independence, of becoming...
Labor Day in Spain, known there as Día del Trabajador or Primero de Mayo, was first celebrated on May 1, 1889. The way in which Spaniards celebrate Primero...
recall the event. Additionally, the small Spanish village of Villanueva de la Sierra held the first modern Arbor Day, an initiative launched in 1805 by the...
Marcha Real (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmaɾtʃa reˈal]; lit. 'Royal March') is the national anthem ofSpain. It is one of only four national anthems in the...
A province in Spain is a territorial division defined as a collection of municipalities. The current provinces ofSpain correspond by and large to the...
majority of languages ofSpain belong to the Romance language family, of which Spanish is the sole one with official status as the national language....
The national flag ofSpain (Spanish: Bandera de España), as it is defined in the Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow...
Municipalities ofSpain Local government in Spain List of metropolitan areas in Spain by population List of submerged places in SpainSpanish Ministry of Economic...
Labor Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labor Day has its origins in the labor union movement, specifically the eight-hour...
The monarchy ofSpain or Spanish monarchy (Spanish: Monarquía Española) is the constitutional form of government ofSpain. It consists of a hereditary...
Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most (about 82 percent) of the Iberian Peninsula. It also includes a small exclave inside France...
The NationalDayof Catalonia (Catalan: Diada Nacional de Catalunya [diˈaðə nəsi.uˈnal də kətəˈluɲə], Spanish: Día Nacional de Cataluña) is a day-long...
As of 1 January 2024, Spain had a total population of 48,592,909. The modern Kingdom ofSpain arose from the accretion of several independent Iberian realms...
Assumption Day 12 October - NationalDayofSpain 1 November - All Saints' Day 6 December – Constitution Day 25 December - Christmas Day List of 2024 box...
Francoist Spain (Spanish: España franquista), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (dictadura franquista), was the period ofSpanish history between...
In Spain, music has a long history. It has played an important role in the development of Western music, and has greatly influenced Latin American music...
The Dayof Books and Roses, April 23, is celebrated in Catalonia, Spain. This day is traditionally known as Diada de Sant Jordi ("Saint George's Day") in...
economy ofSpain is a highly developed social market economy. It’s the world's 15th largest by nominal GDP and the sixth-largest in Europe. Spain is a member...
The climate ofSpain is highly diverse and varies considerably across the country's various regions. Spain is the most climatically diverse country in...
Spain has two time zones and observes daylight saving time. Spain mainly uses CET (UTC+01:00) and CEST (UTC+02:00) in Peninsular Spain, Ceuta, Melilla...
Spain, or the Kingdom ofSpain, is a country located in Southwestern Europe, with parts of its territory in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and...
In Spain, an autonomous community (Spanish: comunidad autónoma) is the first sub-national level of political and administrative division, created in accordance...
Some countries such as Spain refer to the holiday as the Dayof Hispanicity or Día de la Hispanidad and is also Spain'sNationalDay or Fiesta Nacional de...
Global Information
