Ibiza Public Holiday - 5th August
Ibiza Public Holidays (part one) - 5th August
The public holiday in Ibiza on the 5th August is celebrated
every year and is known by a few names including: Santa Maria de las Nieves or
Nuestra Senora de las Nieves (which translates as “Our Lady of the Snow”, which
is interesting as there is not much snow in Ibiza!). Santa Maria is the Patron
Saint of Ibiza.
The festivities continue until the 8th August,
although the main festivities are on the 5th which culminates in a firework
display.
And the reason for this celebration? well it doesn’t take
much to start a fiesta in Ibiza and the reason for this one is to commemorate August
8th 1235 (that is the year not the 25 minutes to 1) when Ibiza was
conquered by the Kingdom of Aragon, previously occupied by the Muslim leadership.
The site of the cathedral in Ibiza Town (at the top of the Dalt Vila) was once
where a Muslim mosque stood nearly 800 years ago.
Many activities in Ibiza Town are based around Parque Reina
Sofia, which is beside the walls of the Medieval Dalt Vila.
So now you know. If you are in Ibiza on the 5th
August, you see or hear fireworks, or stumble across a fiesta in a village or
in Ibiza Town, then you’ll know why.
