Canarian Architecture |
The month of May in Tenerife starts and ends with a pair of public holidays. The first is on Monday, 1st May 2017, for Fiesta del Trabajo (Workers’ Day). At the end of the month, on Tuesday, 30th May 2017, the archipelago celebrates Día de Canarias (Canaries Day), which is the anniversary of the first session of the Canary Islands' Parliament after the return of democracy in Spain.
May 3rd Día de la Cruz (Festival of the Crosses) is a municipal public holiday in Los Realejos, Puerto de la Cruz and, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for both the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and Commemoration of the Founding of the City. On May 3rd, 1494, Alonso Fernández de Lugo, the military governor, erected a wooden cross on a Santa Cruz beach to officially found the city.
In the capital, as well as in Güímar and other towns, people decorate crosses with flowers and fruits, then place them on the ramblas of the city for everyone's enjoyment. In addition, each district of Santa Cruz (which also celebrates the anniversary of the founding of the city) makes or decorates its own crosses.
Los Realejos celebrates the Day of the Cross with a spectacular display of fireworks, one of the most outstanding in Europe and declared of National Tourist Interest. The two main streets of the town, the streets of El Medio and Del Sol, rival for more than three hours to offer the best pyrotechnic show.
May 5th marks the anniversary, in Garachico, of the 1706 eruption.
In Spain, Día de la Madre (Mother's Day) has been celebrated on the first Sunday in May, since 1965 (previously on 8th December, the day of the Immaculate Conception). This year, Mother's Day in Spain falls on Sunday, 7th May 2017.