Hispanic Day (Día de la Hispanidad) or National Day (Fiesta Nacional de España) is an annual national public holiday in Spain on October 12. It commemorates the day when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas in 1492. Hispanic Day is a national public holiday in Spain on October 12. Public life is generally quiet and many businesses and other organizations are closed.

The main event every year is a military parade in the Spanish capital Madrid, presided over by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia, accompanied by other members of the royal family, the Prime Minister, the Presidents of Congress and the Senate, government Ministers and other national, regional and local dignitaries.

Spain's National DayAccording to the Julian calendar, Christopher Columbus set sail from the port of Palos de la Frontera in southwest Spain on August 3, 1492. He landed on a island that is now part of the Bahamas in the Caribbean on October 12, 1492. The anniversary of this date is marked as Hispanic Day in Spain.

Events similar to Hispanic Day to mark the anniversary of the date Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas are also held in other countries. October 12 is known as Discovery Day in the Bahamas, Day of the Cultures in Costa Rica, Day of the Race in Argentina, Chile and Mexico and the Day of Indigenous Resistance in Venezuela.

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