Flags on holidays in Spain: national and regional days

On public buildings in Spain the flag flies every day, so a holiday does not, in principle, change what is seen on the front of the town hall. What does change is which flag takes centre stage: 12 October is the day of the flag of Spain par excellence, and each autonomous community has its own day, on which its flag is at the heart of the celebrations. This guide goes through the national and regional holidays and how they relate to flags.

National holidays

Under article 45.1 of Royal Decree 2001/1983, the national public holidays are:

• Civic holidays: 12 October, the National Day of Spain, and 6 December, Constitution Day.
• Under the Workers’ Statute: 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.
• Under the 1979 Agreement with the Holy See: 15 August, 1 November, 8 December and Good Friday.
• Replaceable by the autonomous communities: Holy Thursday, 6 January and 19 March or 25 July.

The dates for 2026 and 2027 are in the table in the guide to flag days.

12 October

Law 18/1987 declares 12 October the National Day of Spain. Under Royal Decree 862/1997, a military parade with a solemn tribute to the flag of Spain takes place that day, and the buildings and ships of the Ministry of Defence are dressed with the national flag.

6 December

Constitution Day commemorates the referendum of 6 December 1978. The flag flies on public buildings as on any other day, and the Constitution being celebrated is the one that describes the flag in its article 4.

The days of the autonomous communities

Each autonomous community celebrates its own day, and several Statutes set it alongside the flag. The Statute of Catalonia (article 8) states that Catalonia has the flag, the national day and the anthem as its national symbols, and that its national day is 11 September. The Statute of Andalusia (article 3) sets 28 February as Andalusia Day, alongside its green, white and green flag.

In 2026, according to the resolution published in the Official State Gazette, the following are public holidays in their community:

Other communities have their day without it being a public holiday in 2026, or replace it in some years with another holiday. The full calendar of each community, with the local holidays, is published every year in the Official State Gazette and the regional gazette.

Which flag flies on a community’s day

On public buildings the rule does not change: under article 4 of Law 39/1981, the regional flag is used together with the flag of Spain, and under article 6 the flag of Spain takes the place of honour and the others may not be larger. In the streets, on balconies and at festivities, on the other hand, the community’s flag predominates that day. The guide to flag protocol explains the order on public buildings, and the guide to flag types describes the regional flags.

Local holidays

Besides the national and regional holidays, each municipality has up to two local holidays a year under article 46 of Royal Decree 2001/1983, often the feast of its patron saint. On those holidays it is common to see the municipal flag and balconies decorated with flags and hangings.