[1] At the original celebrations, apart from representatives of the government, the President of the Regional Legislature, Álvaro Monjardino and Minister of the Republic Henrique Horta were in attendance.
[2] The preamble of the regional law justifies the institution of this day as both historic and based on the sentiments of Azoreans worldwide:[1][2] Comprised of small communities, isolated for centuries, the Azores and kept cults, popular practices deeply and totally rooted in everyday life and distinctly Portuguese origin.
The celebrations [of the Holy Spirit] are spontaneous, as vivid and intense as the nature of things, they impose an inevitable rest on the first business day that follows them.
[1] In 1997, Azores Day was marked in Ponta Delgada, with the solemn opening of the Galeria dos Autonomistas (Autonomists' Gallery), in the Palace of Conceição (seat of the Regional Government).
[1] After this date, the celebrations marking the Day of the Azores, which since 2006 had already been marked with bestowing honours to illustrious Azoreans, began to occur on the various islands of the archipelago and Azorean communities abroad: Angra do Heroísmo (1998); Horta (1999 and 2006); Santa Cruz das Flores (2000); Fall River, Massachusetts, United States (2001); Ribeira Grande (2002); Ponta Delgada (2003); Santa Cruz da Graciosa (2004); Vila do Porto (2005); São Roque do Pico (2007); Velas (2008); Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2009); Vila do Corvo (2010);[4] Praia da Vitória (2011) and Povoação (2012).