Why is the Day of Saints Peter and Paul Celebrated in Colombia? - Spiwak Hotels

Despite being an officially secular state, it’s no secret that Colombia is a nation of deep Catholic devotion. For this reason, the Day of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29) is commemorated, as in many countries of Christian faith, as a worthy public holiday. It's a time not only to remember the martyrdom of these two foundational apostles of the Church but also to celebrate our cultural diversity with festivals that vary across the national territory.

Naturally, our city is right in the mix! If you're wondering what to do on this public holiday, check out the Spiwak Hotels blog. We'll show you what we do here to tempt you to travel to Cali and enjoy the long weekend (known as “puente”) that this celebration usually creates.





First and foremost, if you’ve always wondered about the origin of this—or if you aren't from Colombia and this makes you curious—we’ll start by explaining why, in our country, holidays that fall on a weekday are moved to the immediately following Monday.

In 1983, a lawyer and jurist named Raimundo Emiliani Román managed a reform of the Colombian labor code to move most of the national holidays that fall on business days to the closest Monday following the actual date of their celebration.

His proposal, which became Law 51 of December 22, 1983, is popularly known today as the Emiliani Law. This legislation allows the three consecutive days created by moving the holidays to Mondays (the famous "puentes" or long weekends) to be used by people for rest or tourism, especially within the country, to boost productivity and support the national tourism industry.

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Raimundo Emiliani, creator of the National Holiday Law



The name day of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast that recalls the anniversary of their deaths as founding fathers of the Christian Church under the mandate of Nero in Rome, as well as the transfer of their remains within the Eternal City.

This commemoration, called a "solemnity" in ecclesiastical and hagiographic jargon, celebrates the lives of these two saints as the first preachers of the word of Jesus as the Son of God. Both were responsible for the expansion of Christianity throughout the ancient world and its separation from Judaism as a monotheistic Abrahamic religion:

“Simon Peter”, a fisherman from Galilee and one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, the one who denied Jesus out of fear before his Via Crucis (Way of the Cross), but upon whom Christ placed his trust by giving him "the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven" and, as his name means in Latin, "the rock" upon which the entire Church of Christ is built in the City of Seven Hills.

And contemporaneously, “Saul of Tarsus”, a Jew of Greek origin who was not part of the original circle of the twelve apostles. In his capacity as a Pharisee, he initially rigorously persecuted the early Christians, such as the stoned Saint Stephen, but who was later enlightened by Jesus Christ to become the great evangelizer of the most important urban centers of the Roman Empire, as well as the writer and translator of the first Christian canonical writings.

Both were arrested and brutally sacrificed, the first nailed to a cross upside down and the second beheaded. But the foundation they left with the birth of early Christianity across the Mediterranean, its subsequent legalization by Constantine I, and its declaration as the official religion of the empire by Theodosius in 380 AD allowed the expansion of the Christian cult throughout the pagan world and laid the foundations of what we now know as Western culture, specifically Europe and later the Americas.

This is why this date is so significant not only in Colombia but throughout Latin America and the Old Continent, apart from being one of the most important holidays in the Christian world and, despite the schisms, of all Christendom, regardless of its geography and tradition (be it Orthodox or Coptic for Eastern churches; or Apostolic-Roman or Protestant for Western churches, including Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, and many others that arose after The Reformation).

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Saints Peter and Paul



In Colombia, this holiday has varied celebrations, and depending on the location, the folkloric features of each are quite particular, with some similarities and differences.

In this regard, the departments of Tolima and Huila organize a similar commemoration between the two regions, though very different compared to others in the rest of Colombia... Their “Fiestas de San Juan and San Pedro” honor another saint, Saint John the Baptist, on a date close to his birthday (June 24th), marking this moment as the first day of a festival full of folklore, dance, comparsas (street parades), crafts, beauty pageants, bambuco music, gastronomy, etc., but concluding on the saint’s day of Saints Peter and Paul. (Something similar happens with the famous San Pedrino Festival in Melgar).

In Meta, this holiday coincides with Día del Talabartero (Saddler's Day), and somewhat like what happens in Ecuador, Peru, and Chile with Día del Pescador (Fisherman's Day) in tribute to the "Fisher of Men," the celebration serves to honor this other trade, though with llanera music, dance, and the reception of candidates for the International Joropo Pageant.

But if you are looking to spend this small holiday vacationing in Cali, we also celebrate this date with our "Maceta Festival" (Festival de Macetas), a beautiful tradition for the kids, which we talk about in this link, with Peter and Paul as main characters.

So, for this long weekend, don't hesitate to consider our city as a family vacation option, because among the Colombian mid-year holidays this is the perfect occasion to visit the capital of Valle del Cauca, where there are plenty of fun plans for children in Cali.

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Come Celebrate the Maceta Festival with Us!

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Spiwak Hotels: Your best accommodation option in Cali and the third-largest hotel complex in Colombia. Located in the north of the city, with easy access to the Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport, within the luxurious Chipichape Shopping Center. 462 rooms, two pools, gym, parking, and access to all the basic and entertainment services you need: a banking area, supermarket, pharmacies, shops, cinema, casino, and many more.

Our spectacular La Zarzuela restaurant offers a menu specializing in fusion cuisine, with ingredients from the Colombian Pacific and Mediterranean techniques. The perfect spot to taste the most innovative international cuisine in Cali.

*** Por: Tzeitel Topel ***