Spanish holiday guide
New Year's Day
New Year’s Day (Año Nuevo) on 1 January is a Spain-wide paid public holiday marking the start of the civil year and a day of rest after New Year’s Eve.
What it means
It is a civil calendar holiday with strong family and rest associations; Spanish law ranks it among the non-substitutable national labour holidays.
Origin and history
1 January as New Year is a Gregorian civil convention; modern Spanish labour law (Workers’ Statute art. 37.2 and the annual calendar published in the BOE—Spain’s official state gazette) fixes it as a national paid holiday.
How it is observed in Spain
Workplaces and schools close; families rest and visit; the twelve grapes and Puerta del Sol countdown belong to the night of 31 December, not to daytime 1 January.
Interesting facts
- One of four non-substitutable national holidays named in the Workers’ Statute.
- BOE title: Año Nuevo.
- Distinct from Nochevieja customs and from Epiphany gift-giving.
Public calendar
Check the 2026 dates
Holiday status depends on place. See the official calendar pages for the locations covered by this guide.