Festivals in Spain: 2008
Spain erupts with fiestas and celebrations throughout the year. Below is a list of the most important events in Spain for 2008. For more information on these and other festivals, see www.tourspain.es, www.okspain.org, www.spain.info, and www.whatsonwhen.com.
NOTE: Before planning a trip around a festival, make sure that you verify the festival dates at the festival or local TI's website.
| Jan 1 | New Year's Day | Spain |
| Jan 5 | Procession of the Three Wise Men ("Los Tres Reyes Magos," gifts for children, parades and fireworks in big cities) | Spain |
| Jan 6 | Epiphany ("Día de los Reyes," religious festival) | Spain |
| Early Feb | La Candelaria (religious festival) | Madrid |
| Feb 22- March 8 |
Festival de Jerez (flamenco and other dancing; www.festivaldejerez.es) | Jerez |
| Feb 28 | Day of Andalucía (some closures) | Andalucía |
| March 15-19 | Las Fallas (burning hundreds of colorful papier-mâché statues, www.fallas.com) | Valencia |
| March 16-23 | Holy Week/Semana Santa (week before Easter) | Spain |
| March 16-23 | Semana Santa (Pageant of The Passion, solemn religious processions) | Sevilla |
| March 23 | Easter Sunday | Spain |
| April 7-13 | April Fair ("Feria de Abril," party tents in huge fairgrounds, traditional costumes, bullfights) | Sevilla |
| April 23 | St. George's Day (celebration of Catalunya's patron saint, "Sant Jordi"; book and flower stalls everywhere — men give roses to women, women give books to men) | Barcelona |
| April 27-May 4 | Jerez Horse Fair ("Feria del Caballo," equestrian pageantry, bullfighting, flamenco dancing; www.jerez2020.com/aFeria.htm) | Jerez |
| May 1 | Labor Day (closures) | Spain |
| May 1 | Ascension Day (religious festival) | Spain |
| May 1-11 | Patio Festival ("Concurso Popular de Patios Cordobeses," shows off traditional patios) | Córdoba |
| May 2 | Day of the Autonomous Community (closures, music, dancing in Plaza Mayor) | Madrid |
| May 3 | Day of the Cross ("Día de la Cruz," neighborhood squares filled with decorated crosses, dancing, and merriment) | Granada |
| May 15 | Fiesta de San Isidro (religious festival for Madrid's patron saint); celebrations — including bullfights and zarzuelas — take place throughout May | Madrid |
| May 22 | Corpus Christi (religious festival) | Spain |
| June 24 | St. John the Baptist Day ("San Juan"; bonfires, fireworks) | Barcelona |
| Late June | La Patum (Moorish battles) | Barcelona |
| Late June-early July | International Festival of Music and Dance (www.granadafestival.org) | Granada |
| July 6-14 | Running of the Bulls (Fiesta de San Fermín) | Pamplona |
| July | Music festival in the Cave of Nerja (third week of July) | Nerja |
| July 25 | Feast of St. James (Santiago) | Spain |
| Aug | Festa Major de Gràcia (neighborhood festival; www.festamajordegracia.cat) | Barcelona |
| Mid-Aug | Verbena de la Paloma (folk festival) | Madrid |
| Aug 10-17 | Aste Nagusia (annual fiesta) | Bilbao |
| Aug 15 | Feast of the Assumption (religious festival) | Spain |
| Aug 27 | La Tomatina (huge tomato fight) | Buñol (near Valencia) |
| Mid-Sept-mid Oct | Autumn Festival (grape harvest, flamenco, bullfights) | Jerez |
| Late Sept | La Mercé (fireworks, dance, street theater, parade with huge papier-mache figures) | Barcelona |
| Oct 12 | Spanish National Day ("Día de la Hispanidad" commemorating Columbus' arrival in the New World, parades, some closures) | Spain |
| Nov 1 | All Saints' Day (religious festival, closures) | Spain |
| Nov 9 | Virgen de la Almudena (religious festival) | Madrid |
| Dec 6 | Constitution Day (closures) | Spain |
| Dec 8 | Feast of the Immaculate Conception (religious festival) | Spain |
| Dec 13 | Feast of Santa Lucía (religious festival) | Spain |
| Dec 25 | Christmas | Spain |
| Dec 31 | New Year's Eve | Spain |