Bank holidays in Madrid 2016-2017

Here comes again the routine of school, college, work: one more year is starting for everyone. Many people (just like you and me) are interested in the dates of the bank holidays of the year. It is a very understandable way to encourage oneself and to be able to face the post holiday depression, so today, we will give you a little help to face the hard reality of working, presenting next bank holidays in Madrid, and also explaining their meanings.

Bank holidays in Madrid

Bank holidays in Madrid capital town (local bank holidays) are , for some of them, different in other cities of the Region of Madrid. The total of bank holidays will be the same, but the dates are different (which complicates the lives of the locals working in Madrid and living in another city, we have to admit it). If you study in Alcorcón (Carlos III University for example), you won´t enjoy the bank holiday of May 15th, San Isidro, held only in Madrid capital town, but on September 8th, you will celebrate the Virgen de los Remedios, from Alcorcon.

Then come the bank holidays of the region that are common to all the cities of the Autonomous Community (Comunidad de Madrid), and then national bank holidays. Yes, it sounds a bit complicated 🙂

You will find below the bank holidays in Madrid calendar for 2016-2017:

Meaning of bank holidays in Madrid

Let’s start at the beginning of the year:

• January 1st and 6th are national bank holidays: as elsewhere in Europe, the 1st is a holiday for being the first day of the year (and to prevent not let us go to work with a hangover from the previous Eve :)). On January 6th you won´y have to work. This celebration corresponds to the Epiphany, also held in Italy for example. Traditionally this is the day that Spanish children receive their gifts, brought by the Three Wise Men (the day they brought gifts to Jesus: gold – being a King – incense – being a God – and myrrh – being a man) and not Santa Claus as elsewhere. That said, children often receive gifts for Christmas, and for Epiphany! In 2017, 6th falls on a Friday (Good!)

• On March 19th it is the San Jose celebration, (which unfortunately falls on a Sunday in 2017, ajjjjj …). It is a national holiday, equivalent to Father’s Day, in the Catholic acceptance.

• Holy Thursday and Friday: these two bank holidays tell the locals when it will be our first swim in the sea !!! In other words, they are among the most beloved bank holidays of the year :). They fall each year on a different date because Easter (same as the month of Ramadan) is programmed according to a moon calendar. Holy Week is accompanied by processions throughout the country (the most famous in Sevilla and other cities of Castilla León). Holy Thursday and Friday are national bank holidays, but the holidays the rest of the week vary according to the region.

• May 1st and 2nd: in Madrid we are very lucky because May 1st, international bank holiday (Labor Day), is followed by May 2nd, which celebrates the uprising of the Spaniards against the troops of Bonaparte, and beginning of the War of Independence. This year, these bank holidays in Madrid fall on Monday and Tuesday (hooray!)

• May 15th: in central Madrid, celebrating San Isidro, the patron of the city. All Madrid stands gala, the locals dress in Chulapos and Chulapas. A week of parties, concerts, parades, and much Chotis, Madrid’s traditional dance. It´s one of the most popular bank holidays in Madrid.Find more information at one of our previous articles on the traditional festivals of Madrid. In 2017, (Bridge in sight!) falls on a Monday

• On July 25th, the Feast of Santiago Apostol. This is a regional bank holiday, celebrating the patron Saint of Spain. It is also and of course the hub of the celebrations of Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, where the apostle’s tomb is located. It is one of the 12 apostles (James). According to medieval tradition, it is said that James traveled to Hispania 33 A.D. to evangelize this new territory. Hence, it is the patron Saint of Spain, but it is not a national bank holiday. It will be on a Tuesday in 2017, we can not complain.

• On August 15th it is a national bank holiday, and an international one between Catholic countries, and is the day of the Assumption of the Virgin to heaven. Next year falls on a Tuesday.

• October 12th: is a national bank holiday, celebration of Hispanidad, commemorating October 12th, 1492, when Christopher Columbus discovered America (believing he had reached Japan, poor guy). “Race Day” (very badly connoted) was called in many Latin American countries until 1930. In 2017, it will fall on a Thursday.

• On November 1st and 9th: the 1st is a day of national celebration common to all Catholic countries (All Saints Day), in which the dead are visited in the cemeteries. 9th is a local bank holiday in Madrid capital: the feast of Our Lady of Almudena, the famous and beautiful cathedral in Madrid. It is the patroness of Madrid. This year (2016), the 1st and 9th fall on a Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

• December 6th, 8th and 25th: while Christmas Day is common to all Catholic countries celebrating the birth of Jesus, 6th and 8th are 100% Spanish. These two national bank holidays celebrate Constitution Day (6th) and of the Immaculate Conception (8th). The Constitution Day commemorates the Spanish Constitution of 1978, signed after the death of dictator Franco. The Day of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the day when the Kings and the Church of Spain (December 8th of 1858), made the Vatican recognized the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, namely, that the Virgin Mary never had original sin. It turns out that these two disparate celebrations tend to form a bridge of the tastiest for those who need to escape before Christmas. This year (2016) it will fall on a Tuesday and a Thursday. December 25th, will fall on a Sunday … .but in this case, the bank holiday is postponed the next day, so you won´t have to work on December 26th !

I hope this article will help to put you in a good mood to start with this new course that has just begun. Come on, it is already less until the next holiday !!!! Happy New Year 2016-2017:)