Okay, so I’ve been wanting to get better at understanding Colombian holidays, not just knowing the dates, but like, really understanding them. So I decided to dive in and make a usable tool for myself. Here’s how it went down.
The Idea
First, I just wanted something simple. I figured a basic list would be a good start. I could always add more fancy stuff later, right? The main goal was to have all the Colombian holidays in one place, where I could easily check them.
Getting Started – Finding the Data
My first step was, obviously, finding the data. I did some digging online. It wasn’t super straightforward! Some sites had partial lists, others were outdated. It took a bit of searching and comparing different sources to feel like I had a complete and accurate list for the current year.
Building It Out
I’m no coding whiz, but I know enough to be dangerous. I figured I could cobble something together. I decided to use python to create a simply data structure that could be used later.
Here’s how I ended up structuring the data (I just used a simple text editor for this):
- Holiday Name: I made sure to include both the English and Spanish names, since I’m trying to improve my Spanish too.
- Date: This was crucial, obviously. I formatted it consistently so I could easily sort things later.
- Type: I wanted to know why it was a holiday. Is it religious? National? A battle commemoration? This helps me understand the context better.
- Fixed or Moved: It seems a lot is based off of “Emiliani’s Law”. From what I gather, it seems most holidays are moved to the nearest monday.
The “Aha!” Moment
As I was putting this all together, I realized something. Just having a list wasn’t enough. I wanted to see the holidays in relation to each other. Like, how many are clustered around certain times of the year? Are there long stretches with no holidays? and when are they?
Making it Visual (Future step…)
This is where I’m at now. My next step is to make it to my personel website. Maybe color-code the different types of holidays? This way, I can really see the rhythm of the Colombian year.
It helps me better plan a trip to visit.
It’s a simple project, but it’s already taught me a lot. And it’s something I’ll actually use, which is the best kind of project, right?
