National holidays include January 1 (New Year's Day); January 6 (Epiphany); Easter Sunday and Monday (March or April); April 25 (Liberation Day); May 1 (Labor Day or May Day); August 15 (Assumption of Mary, also known as Ferragosto); November 1 (All Saints' Day); December 8 (Immaculate Conception); December 25 and 26 (Christmas Day and Boxing Day).
Venice's feast of St. Mark is April 25, the same as Liberation Day, so the Madonna della Salute on November 21 makes up for the lost holiday.
Festivals and Seasonal Events
Winter
January: Regata delle Befane. Five champions from the historical Bucintoro rowing club race along the Grand Canal dressed as the Befana - the witch who brings Italian children gifts on January 6.
February: Carnival, dating from the Middle Ages, is celebrated in Venice with plays, masked balls, concerts, and fireworks.
Spring
March: Su e Zo per i Ponti. This marathon goes "up and down the bridges" of Venice on the second Sunday of the month.
April: Festa di San Marco. A solemn Mass is held in the Basilica di San Marco on the 25th to honor the city's patron saint, and red roses are sold.
May: La Vogalonga. Crews bring their own boats for this amateur rowing race on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Sunday of the month.
May: Festa della Sensa (Ascension Day, on the sixth Sunday after Easter). A procession of boats makes its way toward the Lido, and the mayor, doge for a day, throws a golden ring in the water to celebrate the wedding of Venice and the Adriatic.
Summer
July: Festa del Redentore. In the third week of July, a fireworks display takes place above the Giudecca, and a pontoon for pilgrimages is built across the Canale della Giudecca.
Autumn
September: Regata Storica. A procession of historical boats with crews in Renaissance costumes opens this rowing competition.
October: Venice Marathon . The 26.2-mile race begins in Stra and follows the Brenta River into Venice on the last Sunday in the month.
