May 8th

A year ago today David Ferrer played his final tennis match on the ATP Tour at the Mutua Madrid Open. But did you know the Jávea born star once played a tennis match on a bridge.

It happened in Buenos Aires in the form of an exhibition match against Japan's Ken Nishikori. The contest was used to promote the Argentine Open in 2017

Cinco de Mayo - The Mexican Two Diamond

To celebrate Constitution Day in Norway with our Norwegian members we take a look at bridge in Norway.

The Norwegian Bridge Federation (Norsk Bridgeforbund - NBF) is recognised as the national body for bridge in Norway.
It was founded by Inga and Odd Arnesen in 1932 and had three clubs at the time. Another bridge organisation, actually founded earlier in 1931 by Wilhelm Nickelsen agreed by mutual consent to merge into what is now the NBF in April 1932.
Its members are divided into circuits for competitions and they are a member of the European Bridge League. Widely recognised as one of the strongest bridge playing Nations in the world they celebrated their 75th anniversary by winning the World Team Championship in 2007 for the first time (see article below) and in 2008 at the first World Mind Sport Games in Beijing won more medals than any other nation, two golds, one silver and three bronze.
Their National Offices are at the Ullevaal Stadion where they National Football team play the majority of their matches

FIESTA DEL TRABAJO - May Day

Today is a national holiday, so most if not all businesses will be closed.  The normal festivities have obviously been cancelled.

You might not realize it, but May Day – an ancient spring festival in the Northern Hemisphere – was an astronomical holiday. It’s one of the year’s four cross-quarter days, a day that falls more or less midway between an equinox and solstice, in this case the March equinox and June solstice. May Day has been adapted over the years in various ways across the globe. In the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane meaning "bright fire" people lit fires through which livestock were driven and around which people danced, moving in the same direction that the sun crosses the sky to celebrate the changes of the season, fertility, new birth and life.  

More recently in history May Day has become associated with workers and their struggles for recognition. 

Spring Bank Holiday is a holiday in the United Kingdom when many government offices, businesses and schools are closed. It is sometimes called May Day Holiday and it falls on the last Monday of May. When it was originally created, this day fell on the Monday after Pentecost, also known as Whit Monday, but was eventually moved to the last Monday of May by the Banking And Financial Dealings Act of 1971.

Today, it is a day of the year when many people take advantage of the day off and use the time to go on vacation, spend time with the family or to catch up on activities they wouldn’t have the time to do.

Currently, this holiday is officially recognized in Great Britain, Scotland, Isle Of Man and Northern Ireland.

Today is posts 

La Noche de San Juan, or San Juan Night, is the end of a longer festival marked by ritual and celebrated throughout Spain commemorating the shortest night and longest day of the year. Each region of Spain has a different twist on how they celebrate, however they all incorporate bonfires, good food and drink, family and great friends. Basically, it is as good a reason as any to party. This year the local beaches will be CLOSED

The festival culminates on the eve of June 23 and lasts until the wee hours of June 24th. The period traditionally spans the beginning of the summer solstice and has its roots in pagan rituals. The elements of fire, water and light usually feature. There is also a tradition, which states that if you jump over the bonfire three times on San Juan Night, you will be cleansed and purified, burning all your problems away. 

Constitution Day and Immaculate Conception

Constitution day is actually Sunday 6th Dec but the national public holiday will be on Monday in lieu of this date. It marks the approval of the Spanish Constitution. As part of the Spanish transition to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, a general election took place in 1977 to convene the Cortes Generales (Parliament) for the purpose of drafting and approving a constitution.  Constitution Day celebrates this day and December 6th has been a national holiday in Spain since 1983. 

Immaculate Conception is celebrated on Tuesday 8th Dec and is also a national holiday. It is a day that celebrates the belief that Mary, mother of Jesus, was preserved from original sin all of her life. The Immaculate Conception is a day whose meaning is often confused. By the sounds of it, one would think we would celebrate the day Jesus was conceived. On the contrary, it is the day that the Blessed Mother Mary was conceived.

Valencia Day

The Day of the Valencian Community (Día de la Comunidad Valenciana) marks the anniversary of King James I of Aragon's capture of the city of Valencia from Moorish forces in 1238. It is also the Day of Saint Dionysius, a traditional festival for lovers. Most businesses will be closed and there will be parades.

the National Day or Fiesta Nacional de España. It is also called the Hispanic Day or the Dia de la Hispanidad. The day is celebrated to commemorate the arrival of Columbus in Americas in 1906. It is also celebrated as the day of the Armed Forces.

It was on August 3, 1492 that Columbus first set foot from the port of Palod de la Frontera in Spain. He ended up on an island that's part of the Caribbean now. Up until 1987, the day was celebrated as the Hispanic Day in Spain to celebrate the country's association with Hispanidad. Hispanidad is a common community formed by countries of Hispanic origin. In 1987, through an official order, the day was renamed as the National Day of Spain. Prior to that, the National Day of Spain used to be celebrated on different dates over the years. The Hispanic Day was renamed as the National Day as a compromise between the Republicans and Conservatives. The Conservatives wanted to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the country while the Republicans wanted to showcase the strengthening democracy of the country.

The day sees muted celebrations in the country. It is marked with raising of Spain's National Flag in Madrid by the king of Spain. The flag raising ceremony is followed by a military parade which showcases the country's weapons and artillery. An air show also takes place with the armed forces performing acrobatic maneuvers in the air. Other than that, there is not much celebration on the streets. It is a public holiday. Therefore, most of the shops and all the offices are closed on this day. There is a live telecast of the parade and air show on TV.

All Saints Day (1st Nov)

The holiday will be Monday 2nd

Although now observed in November, All Saints Day was originally celebrated on May 13, although the origin cannot be traced with certainty, accoring to Encyclopedia Brittanica. Pope Boniface IV formally started what would later be known as All Saints Day on May 13 in 609 AD when he dedicated the Pantheon in Rome as a church in honor of the Virgin Mary and all martyrs. 

The current date of November 1 was established by Pope Gregory III during his reign (731-741 AD) when he dedicated a chapel in Rome's St. Peter's Basilica in honor of all saints. While this celebration was originally limited to Rome, later in 837 Pope Gregory IV ordered the official observance of All Saints Day every November 1 andextended its celebration to the entire Church.