Columbus dag of Dia de las Hispanidad?

In Seville we have a lot of national and local holidays. Many of them are well known and therefore also familiar with the tourists that come to Andalucía. Others are a little less familiar than the famous ones but they still have the importance, a lot of (important) history, for Seville of the region of Andalucía, and big parties in the centre of Seville. A perfect example of a holiday like that is Columbus Day that is celebrated very largely in Spain and Seville itself. In this blog I will tell you everything about this nice holiday and how it’s celebrated over here.

Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries in South America and in the United States but of course also here in Spain, celebrated in our own spanish way. On Columbus Day we officially celebrate the arrival of Columbus in the United States which happened as we all know on October the 12^th of 1492.

This day is known as Columbus Day in the United States, as ‘’Dia de la Raza’’ in the South American countries and as ‘’Fiesta National’’ or ‘’Dia de las Hispanidad’’ in Spain. The only difference between these ''Columbus'' holidays in the various countries is the history. Were ‘’Dia de la Raza’’ in Spain is only since the late 20^th century, Columbus Day in the United states already existed in some places at 1905 and the first ‘’Dia de la Raza’’ was in Argentina in 1917.

But for us, Seville and Andalucía are the most important of course. So how is it celebrated in Andalucía? Where are the parties, and what can you expect when you walk in the centre of the Seville?

In Seville, ‘’Dia de las Hispanidad’’, is celebrated very beautifully, of course the city is full of history of their faith and there are important churches and Christian building everywhere. So as you can already guess, ‘’Dia de las Hispanidad’’ is also celebrated in full glory. Many of the holy events, and parades that are held inside Seville, take place in the centre of the city. The people carry the holy Christian statues through the streets of Seville to show them to the public and most importantly to honor their faith in front of the people of Seville.

Many bridges in the city are covered with pictures or artworks of Maria or the Virgen del Rosario especially for this day. Also, the streets are filled with incense and everywhere in the city you can hear beautiful music, which is very typical for Seville of course. Also recommended, is going to the church of San Pedro where you can visit the chapel of the Virgen of Pilar. In almost every square in Seville they are organizing something for this special day. Anything from parades, shows, fiestas, musical performances or someone who speaks about this special holiday and tells stories to the public. Bars, restaurants, squares and the streets will be full of people, conviviality and hispanic festivities so there is something to see or do for everybody, for every age.

So if you want to get to know the real religious side of Seville or if you just want to enjoy or discover this amazing day you should definitely visit Seville during ‘’Dia de las Hispanidad’’ and enjoy this national holiday together with us!