The Cunning Canary

This fiesta falls on August 15th and it is a national holiday all over Spain and the Canary Islands. Most business close, apart from the tourist shops, restaurants and bars. This is a Christian festival and it was introduced in 847AD by Pope Leo IV to celebrate the anniversary of Mary ascending up to heaven. [...]

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National day, which falls on October 12th, is celebrated all over Spain and it is a national holiday. Anyone called Pilar will also be celebrating their saint name day. The Spanish, being Catholic, often have saints’ names and they have 2 birthdays a year (sounds good to me!), one for the day they were born [...]

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The Feast of the Immaculate Conception, or La Inmaculada Conceptión as it is known in Spanish, is a bank holiday which falls on December 8th every year. This public holiday marks the start of the Christmas celebrations and it is celebrated all over Spain, as well as the Canary Islands. Commercially speaking, Christmas starts in [...]

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All Saints’ Day in Gran Canaria falls on November 1st. This fiesta is a bank holiday and it is called “Todos Los Santos” in Spanish. Traditionally, All Saints’ Day is when the Canarians and Spanish lay flowers on the graves of their loved ones. All Saints’ is about family members who have died. Traditional All [...]

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First of all, if you’re going to Gran Canaria at Christmas, don’t worry about the weather. I’ve been here for nearly 11 years and I’ve never had a rainy or cold Christmas Obviously it’s not going to be 40ºC like in August but you won’t need a heavy coat. Locals like me usually opt for [...]

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This fiesta takes place all over Spain and has been celebrated since 1978, after the death of Franco, when democracy was introduced to Spain. In Spanish Day of the Spanish Constitution is “el Día de la Constitución Española” and it means a day off work for the Spanish and Canarians. On mainland Spain this fiesta [...]

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You might be planning a holiday in Gran Canaria to get away from Christmas or you might fancy doing some shopping when you’re there. The shops in Vecindario and Las Palmas are open on Sundays ONLY in December. The rest of the year only the tourist shops open on Sundays. The Canarians give their gifts [...]

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I recently received a message from Patricia, who is wondering about moving to La Higuerita and who asked me about the place and the cost of living. Thanks for your most recent message, Patricia – I’ll post it on here and then answer your questions the best I can: Hi there Victoria Thank you for [...]

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