List of Holidays or days of heavier use on CF

[NerdGjerd]

Hello,
Is there also a list on the forum or elsewhere for holidays that impact the numbers and accommodations on the CF?

I could not find any by searching for "holidays" in the subject. I have pasted a long list below from a generic Spanish holiday site, but i only recall Easter, Feast of St James, and May 1 European Labor day, San Fermin July 7 week in Pamplona as times to look out for.

I'm especially interested in any holidays that would affect any bottlenecks, including St Jean Pied de Port, Sarria, and Santiago de Compostela. I'm hoping to avoid bottlenecks if starting from St Jean Pied de Port in May. I have learned from this excellent post below, and others, to not start at the very beginning of May or June if seeking less crowded conditions. Wait a week or two after the first(s), and also start walking on Tueday-Thursday. Thank you for any links or ideas on bottleneck dates.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/rethink-how-and-when-you-walk-the-frances-strategies-for-walking-during-busy-times.80519/

Apr 1 Monday Easter Monday Autonomous Community Holiday CT, IB, LO, NA, PV, S, VC
Apr 1 Monday Easter Monday Observance
Apr 10 Wednesday Eid al-Fitr Observance Ceuta, Melilla
Apr 23 Tuesday Day of Aragón Autonomous Community Holiday Aragon
Apr 23 Tuesday St George's Day Observance
Apr 23 Tuesday Castile and León Day Autonomous Community Holiday Castile-Leon
May 1 Wednesday Labor Day / May Day National holiday
May 2 Thursday Day of Madrid Autonomous Community Holiday Madrid
May 5 Sunday Mothers' Day Observance
May 17 Friday Galicia Literature Day Autonomous Community Holiday Galicia
May 19 Sunday Whit Sunday/Pentecost Observance
May 20 Monday Whit Monday Observance
May 30 Thursday Corpus Christi Autonomous Community Holiday CM
May 30 Thursday Corpus Christi Observance
May 30 Thursday Day of the Canary Islands Autonomous Community Holiday Canary Islands
May 31 Friday Day of Castile-La Mancha Autonomous Community Holiday CM
Jun 9 Sunday Day of Murcia Observance Murcia
Jun 9 Sunday Day of La Rioja Autonomous Community Holiday La Rioja
Jun 10 Monday Day off for Day of La Rioja Autonomous Community Holiday La Rioja
Jun 13 Thursday San Antonio Observance Ceuta
Jun 17 Monday Eid al-Adha (Tentative Date) Autonomous Community Holiday Ceuta, Melilla
Jun 20 Thursday June Solstice Season
Jun 24 Monday Saint John the Baptist Day Observance
Jun 24 Monday Saint John the Baptist Day Autonomous Community Holiday Catalonia, Valencia
Jul 25 Thursday Feast of Saint James the Apostle Autonomous Community Holiday GA, M, NA, PV, S
Jul 25 Thursday Feast of Saint James the Apostle Observance
Jul 28 Sunday Day of the Institutions Observance Cantabria
Aug 5 Monday The Day of Our Lady of Africa Autonomous Community Holiday Ceuta
Aug 11 Sunday The Day of Cantabria Observance Cantabria
Aug 15 Thursday Assumption of Mary National holiday
Sep 2 Monday Day of the Independent City of Ceuta Observance Ceuta
Sep 6 Friday Elcano's Day Observance Basque Country
Sep 8 Sunday Day of Asturias Autonomous Community Holiday Asturias
Sep 8 Sunday Day of Extremadura Observance Extremadura
Sep 8 Sunday Virgin of the Victory Observance Melilla
Sep 9 Monday Day off for Day of Asturias Autonomous Community Holiday Asturias
Sep 11 Wednesday National Day of Catalonia Autonomous Community Holiday Catalonia
Sep 15 Sunday Nuestra Señora de la Bien Aparecida Autonomous Community Holiday Cantabria
Sep 17 Tuesday Day of Melilla Autonomous Community Holiday Melilla
Sep 22 Sunday September Equinox Season
Oct 9 Wednesday Day of the Valencian Community Autonomous Community Holiday Valencia
Oct 12 Saturday Hispanic Day National holiday
Oct 27 Sunday Daylight Saving Time ends Clock change/Daylight Saving Time

 

[C clearly]

The word "fiestas" is the magic word for searching. I've added a tag so your good list will be tagged.

 

[NerdGjerd]

Thank you c Clearly. I searched Fiesta and am adding these to the thread in case it's handy to have in one place. Not sure how any of these affect accommodations or pilgrim traffic crowds. If anyone knows, please comment.

This thread has some very good lists/links down a couple pages submitted by @SabsP
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/2023-festivals.77840/

and here are more from various forum posts:

Feb/March- Carnival

April:
4th to 10th Apr 2025 - Seville Fair in Los Remedios https://www.andalucia.com/festival/seville-feria.htm
13th to 19th Apr 2025 - Semana Santa

May:
Ascension weekend from Thursday 18th to Sunday 21 May
And the Pentecote (name in French) from Saturday 27 to Monday 29 May
A lot of people will take the week in between off per https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...ay-weekends-coming-up-plan-accordingly.80498/

June:
3rd-ish week of June - Lugo Roman Festival

September/October:
Grape Harvest Festivals, timing depending on weather and harvest dates: La Rioja, Logroño and others (this per chatGPT)
2nd Weekend of September (for 5 days) - Fiesta in Viana (last town before Logrono)
Pamplona - Festival de los Tres Burgos

 

[asl]

Here's a link to a list of festivals throughout the year, too.

The Complete Camino Festivals Calendar

The Complete Camino Festivals Calendar CaminoWays.com

caminoways.com

 

[NerdGjerd]

Per recent threads, sounds like the mid-May Sunday Whit Sunday/Pentecost Observance is one to highlight on this list as a busy day.