Traditions/Holidays
Visigoths
Reccared, the king at the time, converted to Catholicism from Arian Christianity, bringing along with it the holidays and customs of the Catholic Church, such as Easter and Christmas. This unified the religions in Spain and remained in Spain for thousands of years, even into Modern Times. The Visigoths brought no new traditions to Spain, other than unifying them through Catholicism. King Reccared also demanded that the Jewish people living on the Iberian Peninsula convert to Catholicism, resulting in the following letter, written by a community of people of the Jewish faith proclaiming to be Catholic so that they could continue to practice in secret:
"Moreover, all the ceremonies enjoined by the Christian religion-whether said ceremonies relate to festivals, or to marriage and food-we will truly and exactly observe; and we will maintain the same with sincerity, without any objection or opposition thereto.."
Vandals
The Vandals adopted Arian Christianity, which put them at odds with the church but any traditions or holidays came from there. One lasting impression on the world was that the term ‘Vandal’ has come to mean destruction and is generally associated with criminals. This is in part because we get most of our descriptions of them from the Romans.
Al-Andalus
​Unlike the other two groups, Al-Andalus was Muslim and therefore observed the Muslim traditions and holidays. They did not try to convert all of the regions to Islam, instead, they made their religion the official religion but allowed others to have religious freedoms. The traditions and holidays are still celebrated in the Muslim world today, however, as Catholicism became the dominant religion, they are observed less and less in Spain.
“The Jews of Spain and the Visigothic Code, 654-681 CE.” Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Accessed May 5, 2020. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/jewish/jews-visigothic1.asp.