English
Español
Andalucía Day, marks the anniversary of a referendum held on 28 February, 1980 when a large majority of voters supported the referendum for Andalucía to become one of the 17 autonomous communities in Spain, following Spain’s democratisation after nearly forty years of the Franco dictatorship. Franco died in November 1975. Here is more from our contributor Paul Whitelock…
Día de Andalucía is a significant day in the life of most andaluces. It is a public holiday so that schools, businesses, and government offices are closed. In 2021, 28-F, as the Spanish call it, falls on a Sunday, so the public holiday is transferred to the following day, 1 March. (Also a significant date for Welsh folk, incidentally, though not a bank holiday. It’s St. David’s Day.)
Many people spend the day quietly with family or close friends. However, in normal times some people organize or attend private parties with traditional music, dancing, food and drink. Some municipalities hold communal meals with traditional foods, drinks and entertainment. This will not happen in 2021, of course, because of the Covid-19 restrictions.
The autonomous community of Andalucía shares international land borders with Portugal and Gibraltar. Within Spain, it borders the autonomous communities of Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Murcia. People in Andalucía voted for the region to become an autonomous community of Spain on February 28, 1980. However, the Spanish Parliament only accepted Andalucía as a historic nationality in 2006.
Andalucía’s flag is widely displayed on Andalucía Day. It consists of three equal horizontal bars. The top and lower bars are dark green and the middle bar is white. Andalucía’s coat of arms is at the centre of the flag. Andalucía’s coat of arms consists of an image of the mythical Greek hero Heracles between two columns. The columns represent the Pillars of Heracles. These are the rocks on either side of the Straits of Gibraltar.
In many cities, towns and villages in Andalucía people decorate their balconies with the regional flag and with green-and-white bunting.
In 2021 this will be the extent of the celebrations, as many places are in various stages of lockdown, with perimeters closed and non-essential businesses unable to operate.
Let’s hope we get to grips with this Covid-19 virus and that things will have improved by 2022.
