Last year, we were taken off guard by the public holiday on December 8th, celebrating the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception. It seems bizarre to dictate a public holiday for such a purely religious event, but this is Spain, so it’s not too surprising.
People stay home from work and stores are closed, but it doesn’t seem like this holiday incorporates much else. There’s not a mention of La Inmaculada, or any events planned around it, in today’s paper.
All Catholics are obligated to attend Mass today, and the Church has declared this to be a “solemn” holiday — so I suppose that explains why there’s no dancing in the street or mascletàs going off!