October 12th is known as La Fiesta Nacional in Spain. It is an important public holiday, always observed on the said date and never moved to another day of the week for convenience purposes.
This holiday is also celebrated to various degrees in other parts of the world, mostly the United States and part of Latin America where it is known as Columbus Day or Dia de la Raza and celebrates the “discovery” of America by Christopher Columbus.
Of course, Queen Isabella of Spain sponsored Christopher Columbus on the voyage in which he discovered this “new” continent and, it would therefore be logical that the Spanish focus on this holiday would be the same as that of the other parts of the world where this is also celebrated.
Yet, in Spain, since 1987, this day has a much broader meaning it commemorates the creation of the kingdom of Spain in its current form. The joining of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon through the marriage of Queen Isabella and King Fernando in 1469 and the 1492 defeat of the last Moorish Emirate in Granada, the last islamic bastion in Spain. The discovery of America in 1492 also cemented Spain’s position in the world and the holiday is still held on October 12th, anniversary of that momentous occasion.
Today La Fiesta Nacional is celebrated with military parades in the capital, Madrid. The day is, however not widely celebrated in the rest of the country where the population just considers this day a day of rest. The sole exception is Zaragoza, the northern city that celebrates El dia del Pilar, their patron with great festivities and fanfare.
