What Is Constitution Day in Spain?
For those of us who moved to Spain within the past decade or two (or three), it’s easy to forget that less than 50 years ago, the country was under the thumb of a dictatorship. In terms of Western democracy, Spain is still very young.
The national holiday marks the day when the country’s constitution was approved by the Spanish people via referendum on December 6th, 1978. This was a crucial step in Spain’s transition to democracy following the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, and was the second fully democratic official Spanish Constitution. (The first was the Spanish Constitution of 1931, which established the Second Republic.) The holiday celebrates the beginning of Spain’s new era as a democratic nation.
The Creation of the Document
A general election took place in 1977 to elect the members of the Spanish Parliament (los Cortes Generales) for the purpose of drafting the document. From this group of elected members, seven men were selected to draft the Constitution: Gabriel Cisneros (UCD), José Pedro Pérez-Llorca (UCD), Miguel Herrero de Miñon (UCD), Miquel Roca i Juvent (CDC), Manuel Fraga Iribarne (AP), Gregorio Peces-Barba (PSOE) and Jordi Solé Tura (PSUC). The final version of the document was proofread for spelling, grammar and form by Nobel laureate Camilo José Cela.
It was then sanctioned by Parliament on October 31, 1978, after which it was approved by the people in early December and subsequently promulgated by the king, Juan Carlos I, on December 27, 1978. As with most constitutions, the document lays out the governmental system, its branches and what powers each one has, and the procedures necessary to make the government function. The text of the Spanish Constitution—one of the longest in Europe—was published by the government in the Spanish Official Gazette on December 29 of that year, and its physical copy was housed in the Spanish Congress of Deputies on the Carrera de San Jerónimo in Madrid.
The Constitution depends on laws to regulate the 180+ total articles and provisions contained within it. In 1979 alone, the Spanish government passed 45 new laws. In over 40 years, the Constitution has only been reformed twice: once to help stabilize the national budget, and once to regulate the foreign vote within the European Union.
How People Celebrate
As the religious holiday known as the Day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on December 8, most people in Spain also take December 7 off of work, in traditional Spanish puente style. (The word for “bridge” in Spanish is also slang for a long weekend.) People start their holiday vacations—this particular puente often marks the start of ski season in the Pyrenees—or just spend time with friends and family.
Even in Catalunya, where a good percentage of the population will tell you that “Catalunya is not Spain” and they’re reluctant to celebrate anything Spanish, people are still more than happy to take the day off work. Some separatist Catalans will use the day as an opportunity to show their anti-Spanish sentiments via public protest, whereas others who are pro-Spain will also march.
In Madrid, the Parliamentary buildings are open to the public, and several schools are chosen each year to participate in the reading of the Constitution on the Lower House of Parliament. Stores all over Spain often offer special promotions as many people make use of these days off to start their Christmas or Three Kings’ Day shopping, and many cities host official activities in public squares.