Spanish holiday guide
Labour Day
Labour Day (Fiesta del Trabajo) on 1 May is a Spain-wide paid holiday and the Spanish expression of International Workers’ Day.
What it means
It commemorates workers’ rights and the labour movement; Spanish law treats it as a non-substitutable national holiday.
Origin and history
Internationally tied to the eight-hour-day movement and 1 May demonstrations from 1890 onward; in Spain it is entrenched in the Workers’ Statute and the annual calendar published in the BOE, Spain’s official state gazette.
How it is observed in Spain
Closures nationwide; union marches in many cities; for others, a rest day—do not universalise protest attendance.
Interesting facts
- Named explicitly in Workers’ Statute art. 37.2.
- Distinct from US Labor Day in September.
- BOE title: Fiesta del Trabajo.
Public calendar
Check the 2026 dates
Holiday status depends on place. See the official calendar pages for the locations covered by this guide.