Michael Coy
IF you have children who are attending a school in the province of Málaga (or if you’re a school student yourself), Semana Blanca is almost upon us.
Málaga’s schools close in the last week of February – it sometimes runs into March. If you’re at university you don’t get the week off.
So what is it, and why does it apply to Málaga only? It stems from the dates of religious festivals. Many towns have, since time immemorial, arranged for their local feria to coincide with a religious day (Granada has its celebration during Corpus Christi, for example).
Málaga bases its feria around the Feast of the Assumption – 15 August. What this means, in effect, is that children in Málaga ‘lose’ a week of their summer holiday.
The kids in Córdoba and Granada are off school in late May for their local celebrations, while Málaga’s feria falls squarely in the middle of the summer break. ‘White Week’ (Semana blanca) compensates for this.
It was established in late February so that it would coincide with Andalucía Day (28). Every summer, the county council (‘Junta de Andalucía’) publishes its calendario escolar – calendar for the school year.
The next school break comes in April. Monday 14 to Friday 18 (Easter Week) are days off for the children, but only Thursday 17 and Friday 18 are bank holidays for the grown-ups.
After that, Thursday 1 May is a no-school day, and the summer holidays begin in the last week of June. Primary schools close on Monday 23 and secondary schools on the following day. School re-starts on Wednesday, 10 September.
