Every other year in June a miracle happens: Spain is united under one flag. Initially, that may not seem miraculous, but in light of Spanish history, it becomes clear that the Spanish flag is not a universal symbol of national pride. Where in the U.S. American flags are ubiquitous, in Spain, the national flag is strikingly absent.

In the days of his dictatorship, General Franco sought to unify the country together by trampling personal liberties, shutting the nation’s borders, and denying the Basque, Catalan and Galician people the right to publicly express their unique heritage. Since then, the Spanish flag has come to represent a united Spain that no longer exists. In its place is the system of autonomous communities, where each region has it’s own mini-government. Thus, a Spaniards’ primary loyalty is not to his nation but to his region. For example, some one from Madrid considers himself Madrileño more than Spanish.

If it is regional—and not national—pride that people feel, what June event causes the sudden abundance of Spanish flags? One word. Soccer! Be it the Eurocup or the World Cup, every two years, Spain can look forward to kicking off the summer with their national pastime, soccer. While Spain often holds its own on the field, something truly spectacular happened in June, 2008, a moment now referred to as the most eventful in Spanish history since Franco’s death in 1975: El Español (the Spanish national team) won the Eurocup for the first time in more than twenty years.

On the night of Spain’s victory over Germany in the championship game, the red and yellow flags—if only for a short time—were proudly displayed in the windows of all homes, wrapped around the bodies of all Spaniards, and painted on every square inch of Spanish skin. Because in the heat of the moment, it didn’t matter what part of the country you were from or what your political inclinations were. On that night, June 29, 2008, all Spaniards were playing on the same side. ¡Aupa, España! Go Spain!

via A Spanish miracle: The binannual debut of the Spanish flag.