THE 6 MOST IMPORTANT NATIONAL HOLIDAYS OF COLOMBIA - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The national holidays of Colombia are an intrinsic part of a country rich in culture, customs, folklore, illustrious citizens and about history, a lot of history full of epic moments to forget.

Colombia is a Latin American country located in the northwestern region of South America, which shares territorial borders with Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Panama. It is the third country in the world with the largest number of Spanish speakers due to its vast territorial extension of more than 1,140,000 kilometers, and a population of almost 50 million inhabitants.

Colombia is known for the excellent quality of some of its export products, such as coffee and emeralds, being the first producing country in the world in both markets.

In the same way, it stands out for having the largest open space coal mines in Latin America, and for having impressive tourist destinations thanks to the rich colonial history that it has and the geographical diversity that characterizes it, which includes desert and coastal territories, volcanic and jungle.

Main national holidays that are celebrated annually in Colombia

July 20: Independence of the Republic of Colombia

In Colombia, every July 20, the day of the declaration of its Independence as a Republic is celebrated, which took place that same day in 1810 with the signing of the Act.

However, the signed document did not declare the independence of Nueva Granada (now Colombia) as a Republic, but rather established a Supreme Board with the power to autonomously govern the territory of New Granada, but still recognizing the legitimacy of the Spanish monarchy.

This was so because the Spanish Crown suffered a severe political crisis from 1808, as a result of the Napoleonic invasion, which led to the fall of its mandate both on the peninsula and in the American colonies.

Even so, it is considered that from this date a long process of independence of New Granada began that lasted almost a decade, until 1819, and that ended with the definitive consolidation of the Republic thanks to the taking of Santa Fe by the patriot army in the Battle of Boyacá.

Within this process of emancipation between 1810 and 1819, in addition to internal confrontations between the New Granada, there were also, from 1815, clashes between patriots and the Spanish monarchy, because the latter was able to demand and regain control of the territories of the Viceroyalty.

August 7: Battle of Boyacá

The Battle of Boyacá was a confrontation that occurred on August 7, 1819 between the royalist army (in favor of the monarchy) and the patriot army commanded by the Venezuelan Simón Bolívar (in favor of independence), in the Province of Tunja.

This battle is one of the most important national holidays in Colombia, because it meant a decisive step towards the consolidation of its independence from the Spanish Crown.

The confrontation took place when a royalist legion tried to enter Santa Fe after the patriots took it days before (on August 4).

The successful blockade that the patriot army managed to carry out against the claims of the royalists allowed them to definitively seize the capital of New Granada, which significantly weakened the Spanish Crown, and constituted a fundamental step for the total independence of the Republic.

After this battle, the Spanish Viceroy fled the territory of New Granada and the Spanish crown definitively lost its power in the territory of New Granada.

Finally, as of 1821, the old Spanish Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada became part of a new Republic called “Gran Colombia”, of which the old Province of Venezuela, the Free Province of Guayaquil and the Presidency of Quito.

April 9: Bogotazo

April 9, 1948 is remembered by Colombians as the day that began one of the most important historical periods of the 20th century, known as “La Violencia”.

This originated from the assassination of the presidential candidate for the Liberal Party at the time, Jorge Gaitán, allegedly at the hands of a 26-year-old named Juan Roa Sierra.

Subsequently, Roa was publicly murdered by lynching without actually determining his responsibility through an official investigation.

As a result of this assassination, a strong period of popular protests began in the Colombian capital that unleashed violent clashes between supporters of two strongly opposed political groups throughout the country: the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.

It is thought that the balance of deaths that occurred in this period due to the conflicts, which lasted for at least 10 years, was between 200,000 and 300,000 people, in addition to generating a massive migration of more than two million people.

Armed groups emerged from both sides that perpetrated acts of violence, many of which ended up becoming guerrilla movements in rural areas of the country.

Despite several attempts at pacification, this conflict only managed to transform into a new armed conflict in the 1960s, which continues to this day.

July 19: Day of the Hero of the Nation and its Families

As of 2005, and thanks to the efforts of various foundations and non-governmental organizations, the Colombian Congress decreed July 19 as the national day of the Hero of the Nation, through Law 913.

According to this law, as a preamble to Colombia's national independence day, the National Banner must be hoisted at half-mast to commemorate all military and police officials who have been affected or died in the performance of their duties.

November 11: Cartagena Independence Party

On November 11, 1811, from the city of Cartagena de Indias, the total independence of the Colombian territory was declared against the Spanish crown. It was, after Caracas, the second city to issue its independence from Spanish colonialism.

Therefore, this is one of the national holidays of Colombia. Every year it is commemorated with parades, performances, events, floats and other traditions that attract tourists for their joy and emotion.

October 12: Columbus Day

October 12 is a special holiday throughout Latin America, with each country having its own variant. In the case of Colombia, cultural diversity is celebrated, which is made up of indigenous citizens, whites, blacks (Palenquera and Raizal), gypsies, mestizos, mulattos, etc.

In Colombia it has been celebrated since 1915 and to commemorate the date a series of events are held throughout the country.

Other civic festivals that are celebrated throughout the country

May 1: Labor Day

This is an international festival to commemorate the labor movement. It is not a national holiday, but it is a civic one.

References

1. RODRÍGUEZ, P. (2010). The history that does not stop: The independence of Colombia 1780 - 1830 Recovered from books.google.co.
2. The Informant (2016). July 19 Day of the Hero of the Nation and its Families Retrieved from elinformador.com.co.
3. HENAO, J. & ARRUBLA, G. (1920). History of Colombia for secondary education Recovered from hbooks.google.cl.
4. Unique Regulatory Information System (2004). Law 913 of 2014. Recovered from ¡suin-juriscol.gov.co.
5. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from wikipedia.org.