Culture of Spain the Roman Catholic religion; 2% identify with another religious faith, and about 27% as non-religious. An important Spanish holiday is "Semana Santa" (Holy Week), celebrated the week before Easter with large parades and other religious events. Spaniards also hold celebrations to honor their local saints in churches, cities, towns and villages. The people decorate the streets, build bonfires, set off fireworks and hold large parades, bullfights, and beauty contests. One of the best known Spanish celebrations is the festival of "San Fermin," which is celebrated every year in July in Pamplona. Bulls are released into the streets, while people run
Running of the bulls only stand behind the second fence, whereas the space between the two fences is reserved for security and medical personnel and also to participants who need cover during the event. The encierro begins with runners singing a benediction. It is sung three times, each time being sung both in Spanish and Basque. The benediction is a prayer given at a statue of Saint Fermin, patron of the festival and the city, to ask the saint's protection and can be translated into English as "We ask Saint Fermin, as our Patron, to guide us through the encierro and give us his