Most schools have summer vacation from about mid-June to early September, during
which time many offices have shortened offices and most people take vacations. During
these holidays, and during any free time for the Spanish, it seems to be a time
to relax. Everyone spends this free time in a different way, but in Spain family
and friends are important and most free time is spent socializing, whether that's
in the home or out in a city, on a ski hill, or laying on a beach.
Identity
Spaniards have no single way to identify. For much of history, Spain
was divided into multiple regions and even today many Spaniards identify first with
their local region and only secondly on the national level, claiming to be Spanish.
This primary means of identifying with one's region is typically based on the
people's ethnic make-up, native language/dialect, or on independence movements
from their local region. However, people from large cities often have left their
regional ties behind and consider themselves, above all else, as being a member
of that city or perhaps will first identity with the country and claim to be Spanish.
For these people, and even for the people that identify with Spain on a secondary
level, the Spanish identity is generally defined first as being Catholic and second
by the Spanish lifestyle. In some regions, such as Catalan, Galicia, or Valencia,
the local pride is extremely strong and it's rare to find a local who doesn't
first identify with his or her region above all else. Additionally, many ethnic
minorities who are not related to the Spanish also tend to identify with their ethnicity,
such as the Roma.