High Days and Holy Days

Yesterday first day of March.  Twilight begins at 7.07; sunrise at 7.35 and sunset at 18.53.  We are in the fields with nothing else to disturb us.  It was the Dia de las Islas Baleares yesterday.  Let's talk holidays.


Law 9/1984, of October 30, declared March 1 as the "Day of the Balearic Islands", with the status of an official holiday throughout the autonomous community, but a working day. It was first considered a non-working day in 1999 (Resolution of the Ministry of Employment and Training of 20 November 1998). Currently, Article 6.3 of the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands of 2007 establishes March 1st as a public holiday of the Balearic Islands .

This is the only holiday in Spain today and is one of those regional things designed to keep the unwary traveller on their toes.




Spain, as we have observed before, has a few, Iberian wide, fiestas. 6th January. Maundy, Labour Day, the Assumption [15th August], the National Day, All Saints, the Constitution , Immaculate Conception and Christmas are they. 




Somehow you would think Easter would get top bulling and all do take Good Friday off.   Valencia and Catalonia are the only ones which make people work on Maundy Thursday - but give people Easter Monday instead.   The Balaerics, La Rioja, Navarra and the Basque Country go the whole hog and give people Easter Monday as well as the previous Thursday and Friday.




Tomorrow we will look into crossing the Ebro.















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