Feliz Día Nacional de España

Happy National Day to all our friends in Spain.

12th October is a national holiday in Spain. It is also Saint Day for anyone called Pilar. Pilar is the Patron Saint of Zaragoza.

The 12th October celebrations go back to the beginning of last century. In 1913 Faustino Rodriguez San Pedro (a wealthy and influential Spanish business man and lawyer and at that time Chairman of an organization called the Iberoamerican Union) proposed that 12th October be called Fiesta de la Raza - literally Festival of the Race, i.e. the Spanish race - and be celebrated throughout Spain and Latin America. La Fiesta de la Raza duly became an official national holiday in 1918 in Spain and some American countries.

However it is also purported that the day commemorates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas.

Whatever the real history of this day I can only say that I hope it is a great day and you all enjoy your celebrations.