9 d'Octubre (English: October 9th) is a historical celebration in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, the official day of the Valencian Autonomous Community since its recognition as an Autonomus Community of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It commemorates the

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

of the city of ''Balansiya'' (modern Valencia) by the troops of

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

and the creation of the

Kingdom of Valencia The Kingdom of Valencia (; ; ), located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. The Kingdom of Valencia was formally created in 1238 when the Moorish taifa of Valencia was taken in ...

in 1238.

Background

The celebration was created by

James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Aragonese: ''Chaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily (as James I) f ...

in the XIV century, mainly inside of the city of Valencia. Due its antiquity and popular tradition, the date was considered as the ''Valencian National Day'' by the Board of Trade Unions and Political Forces of Valencia in 1976, and by the Plenary of members of the parliament of Valencia in 1977. Finally, with the creation of the

in 1982, it was made a

Public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

as the ''Valencian Community Day'' and is celebrated in the entire Valencian Community. Celebrations on October 9th offer many activities such as an international fireworks contest, popular medieval markets, traditional Moors and Christians parades, band concerts and prize awards to relevant celebrities. A formal institutional ceremony with all local authorities is the so called civilian procession held to honour the old royal flag '' Senyera Coronada'' towards the Cathedral from the Town City Hall, where it descends through the balcony and not through the main door as a proud sign of not bowing in front of anyone but God. This parade takes place since 1338 when

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

intended to celebrate the centenary of the

and to demand protection to Saint Denis in the middle of a

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

caused by poor rains. Sant Donis, as it is called in the local language, is also the Lovers' Day on October 9th in the

similar to St.Valentine's, and it is customary to give marzipans shaped as fruits and horticultural products as a present to a beloved person. These sweet gifts are known as ''La Mocadorà'', being ''mocador'' the Valencian word for a silk

handkerchief A handkerchief (; also called a hankie or, historically, a handkercher or a ) is a form of a kerchief or bandanna, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric which can be carried in the pocket or handbag for personal hygiene purposes such as w ...

, where the

marzipan Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...

vegetables and fruits are gift-wrapped. All bakeries along the city and the old kingdom of Valencia hold nowadays beautiful handycrafted and sweet shop window and product contests with this theme ''Mocadorà and its orchard marzipans''.

References

{{Reflist History of the Valencian Community

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

National days October observances Public holidays in Spain Autumn in Spain