Calendar
January 1 New Year's Day. A Spanish public holiday, New Year's Day is traditionally greeted by fireworks and the eating of a grape at every chime. January 6 Epiphany. A Canarian public holiday, and welcomed in by processions in major towns the day before. This, rather than Christmas Day, is traditionally the day of present giving among islanders. January 20 Fiesta de San Sebastian (La Gomera). February/March Carnival. The biggest event of the year. Festivities begin in Santa Cruz , which is stormed by hundreds of thousands of costumed partygoers. From there it moves to other large towns on the island, most spectacularly in Puerto de la Cruz . March 19 Dia de San Juan. Public holiday. Late March/early April Easter week ( santa semana ), with Maundy Thursday ( Jueves Santo ) and Good Friday ( Viernes Santo ) both public holidays. Elaborate processions take place on both days in La Laguna, one a silent procession of brotherhoods and fraternities. April 25 Fiesta de San Marcos in Icod (Tenerife) and Agulo (La Gomera). May 1 Labour day. Public holiday. May 3 Festival celebrating the founding of Santa Cruz with a procession and lots of traditional festivities such as harvest festivals, stock shows and Canarian wrestling. May Numerous Romerias (harvest festivals) take place in the Orotava valley, the main one is in La Orotava. Dates vary, but most are in the second half of may. May 30 Canary Island's day. Public holiday with folkdances on the plazas of Santa Cruz. May/June Corpus Christi. On the Thursday that follows the eighth Sunday after Easter, Corpus Christi is celebrated all over the island. Major events are held in La Laguna and, a week later, in La Orotava - where streets are covered in floral carpets. These carpets are worth examining a couple of days before the festival, to avoid the need to jostle through hordes, and to actually see the artists at work. June 13-29 Los Piques celebrated in Agulo (La Gomera), a festival that includes quarrels in the whistling language El Silbo . June 23 & 24 Fiesta de San Juan. Herds of goats from the surrounding area are driven to be bathed in the harbour at Puerto de la Cruz. First Sunday of July Romeria de San Benito Abad, La Laguna. Celebrations include a major religious procession. July 15 Fiestas del Gran Poder de Dios in Puerto de la Cruz. July 16 Fiesta Virgen del Carmen (patron saint of fishermen and sailors) The largest celebrations are in Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, and in Valle Gran Rey and Playa de Santiago on La Gomera. Celebrations usually include a procession of boats. July 25 Public holiday in honour of St James the Apostle, the patron saint of Spain. The Virgin of Candelaria, the patron saint of the archipelago, is removed from the altar of the church in the eponymous town to be paraded in fine robes adorned with gold and surrounded by folk dances and offerings of flowers and produce. Major celebrations also take place in Santa Cruz, where citizens are also celebrating the anniversary of the defeat of Nelson and his British fleet . August 15 Fiesta Virgen de la Candelaria (the patron of the archipelago) and also the date of Benasmen , a Guanche harvest festival - which explains the flowers, greenery, sheep and goats that are paraded behind the statue of the virgin. Most of the night is spent singing and dancing in the church square in honour of both events. August (dates vary) Romeria de San Roque in Garachico, one of the largest and most spectacular harvest and folk festivals on Tenerife. September 6 Fiesta de Cristobel Colon. Anniversary of the departure of Columbus from La Gomera on his first voyage to the Americas (San Sebastian). September 7 Fiesta de la Virgen del Socorro (Guimar). Involves a large procession from the church to the sea in honour of the town's patron saint. September 7-15 Fiesta del Santisimo Cristo La Laguna. A lengthy religious festival that includes a procession behind a fifteenth century Gothic carving of Christ on the Cross, given to the island's conquerour, Alonso de Lugo. October 5 Bajada de la Virgen de Guadelupe (San Sebastian, La Gomera). Observed only every five years (the next in 2003). October 12 Dia de la Hispanidad (National Day). Anniversary of Columbus's discovery of the new world. Public holiday. November 1 All Saints Day. Public holiday with fiestas in many towns around Tenerife. November 29 Fiesta del Vino. Evening wine festival in Icod and Puerto de la Cruz to celebrate the grape harvest. Children run with strings of tins and other metallic junk making as much noise as possible - to emulate the sound of barrels rolling out. The highlight of the festivities is kamikaze sledding (sleds were once used to transport the grape harvest) on the streets, with Icod's course the steepest and most dangerous. New wines are served, with roast chestnuts and grilled sardines as appetisers. December 6 Dia de la Constitucion. Public holiday to celebrate the Spanish political constitution. December 8 Feast of the Immaculate conception. Public holiday. December 25 Christmas Day ( Navidad ). Public holiday.
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