Canary Islands Day 2025

The Canary Islands celebrate their national holiday Dia de Canarias every year on the 30th of May with lots of activities, concerts and celebrations, read more about it here...

The 2025 programme for Valle Gran Rey (above) has lots of local and Canarian folk music and more and will take place behind the bus station (where the Sunday market is situated) and begins at 1pm.

Don't call them Spanish: Canary Islands Day

Canary Islands Day - ''For the (Spanish) government from the Canaries'' says the 2nd poster

Thursday May 30th is Dia de Canarias, the Canarian 'national' holiday when the inhabitants of the Canaries are allowed to proudly say ''Soy Canario'' (I'm Canarian) and celebrate their national identity under Spanish colonial rule. 

It is the annual celebration of all things that make the Canaries and their people so unique and different from their Spanish colonial masters and for some it also means remembering the victims of the Spanish conquest during which much of the aboriginal population was brutally and heinously exterminated. So please don't call the locals 'Spanish' when here on holidays. Most will quietly forgive your ignorance and keep smiling, but they'd much prefer to be called ''Canarios''. The Spanish are called ''Godos'' (Goths) in the Canaries, all other foreigners, especially fair-skinned ones, are ''Guiris''.

There are many events in virtually all towns and villages that pay homage to the rich history, vibrant culture, and unique traditions of the Canary Islands to mark May 30th. On this day in 1983, the archipelago was granted autonomous community status within the Kingdom of Spain, same as other regions e.g. Catalonia previously, recognising a distinct culture and granting self-governance in some respects, but with little real autonomy. 

The annual celebrations began this weekend and continue until the next, peaking during the Canaries' national holiday on Thursday. Below the programme for Valle Gran Rey where the main event takes place behind the bus station from noon on May 30th:

The Christmas Fiesta in January

Above the programme. Find out more about this traditional event...

Main Christmas Presents and Fiesta Jan. 6th

Fiesta in Los Reyes, El Guro, Valle Gran Rey, La Gomera

In Spain and some Latin American countries,the 6th of January is called El Día de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings). It marks the day when the Three Kings or Magi, as related in the second chapter of the gospel of Matthew, arrived to worship and bring their gifts to the baby Jesus after following a star in the sky.  In Spanish tradition on January 6th (Epiphany) the kings  Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar (representing Arabia, the Orient, and Africa) arrived on horse, camel and elephant, bringing respectively gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. Children (and many adults) polish and leave their shoes ready for the Kings' presents before they go to bed on the eve of January 6. The next morning presents will appear under their shoes as the kings  take the role of Santa Claus here . Most towns in Spain arrange colorful parades representing the arrival of the Reyes Magos to town a day or two before, so children can see them on their camels or carriages and hand them letters listing their wishes.  Wine, snacks, fruit and milk are left for the Kings and their camels. In Spain, children typically receive presents on this day, rather than on Christmas, though this tradition has changed a bit in recent years, and children now receive presents on both days.

Ermita de Los Reyes in El Guro, Valle Gran Rey

The Ramo

V.alle Gran Rey's oldest church is in El Guro and dedicated to Los Reyes. Every year the Fiesta de Los Reyes in honour of them takes  place on the national holiday Jan. 6th when the 'Ramo' is made this morning at the cultural centre in La Calera. From there the procession to the chapel of Los Reyes starts at midday, led by the 'ramo' which is an artfully bound bouquet of fruit and vegetables of considerable weight. All is a noisy affair with loud firecrackers being shot into the air along the way. A traditional dance is being performed by many worshippers during the processions, accompanied by ancient chants and the 'chacarras y tambores'. The 'chacarras' are a locally made very large type of castanets, of which there is a 'male' and a 'female', the 'female' having a slightly higher pitch. The 'tambores' are Gomera's unique goat-skinned drums. After arrival there's a mass in the chapel in El Guro followed by folklore and several salsa bands and dancing until early morning.

Tomorrow, January 7th, is a local holiday in Valle Gran Rey and afternoon mass at 'Los Reyes'  will be followed by Canarian folklore and a party outside the chapel.

Finally, this year there will be additional activities and entertainment for children in La Playa's Plaza San Pedro in V.G.R. on Sat Jan. 9th from 5pm.