Catalonia's national holiday: everything you need to know about the festival

Catalonia's national holidayknown locally as La Diada Nacional de Catalunya.

This festival is held in the region every year on September 11.

This has always been an opportunity to celebrate Catalan culture and customs.

Why do Catalans celebrate the Diada?

Read on to find out 7 things you need to know about this big day.

Catalonia's national holiday: article summary

National holiday in Catalonia: commemorating a famous defeat

Let's start with a very unusual fact. The Diada celebrates a military disaster. Catalan troops fighting Bourbon King Philip V of Spain in the War of the Spanish Succession were finally defeated on September 11, 1714. after the 14-month siege of Barcelona.

The surrender marked the dissolution of Catalan autonomous institutions, the abolition of Catalan as an official language and the imposition of new laws from the newly centralized Spain. Symbolically, the march begins at 5:14 p.m. to commemorate the date.

A demonstration banned by General Franco

La Diada was first celebrated in 1886. However, it officially disappeared in 1939 and throughout the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The Catalan regional government reinstated the festival in 1980, five years after Franco's death.

Catalonia's national holiday: a tribute to Catalan lives lost

4,000 people died defending the city during the siege of Barcelona and are buried in a cemetery near the church. Santa Maria del Mar in the Gothic district.

A commemorative square, the Fossar de les Moreres, now covers the cemetery, and thousands of Catalans visit it. lay flowers every year during La Diada.

A day for flag sellers

La Senyera, the Catalan flag of four red stripes on a yellow background, is everywhere on La Diada. Giant versions hang from entire buildings. Countless smaller versions fly from balconies or are draped over cars.

Many people walk the streets with their own version of the flag. A slightly different flag, the estelada, has gained in popularity in recent years. It features a white star on a blue triangle over the red and yellow stripes of the senyera. This is the the unofficial symbol of the Catalan independence movement.

Catalonia's national holiday: Festival grows in popularity

Diada has always been a magnet for supporters of Catalan separatism. For many people, the day is simply a celebration of their Catalan identity, but many more take the opportunity to express their political feelings.

The first mass demonstration took place in 2012, when between 600,000 and 2 million people gathered in Barcelona to demand independence from Spain. The following year, around 1.6 million people joined hands to form an unbroken human chain throughout the region.

Mobilizing for the Republic

For some years now, the organizers have been keen to show that the independence movement is stronger than ever. A survey conducted by the Catalan government's Centro d'Estudis d'Opinio last April showed that 60 % of Catalans want an independent state.

A demonstration for political prisoners

The rallying cry of the Diada in recent years has been for the release of political leaders still behind bars for their role in the unilateral declaration of independence.

Thirteen Catalan leaders have been charged with rebellion, punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Others are in exile, including the former president of the region, Carles Puigdemont.

Catalonia's national holiday is a very special event to attend. Although it has become more politicized over the years, it's still an event not to be missed when you're on the move. go to Barcelona. On your vacation, you'll find most streets crowded with people carrying flags, singing and dancing. while marching along the city's main thoroughfares.