Holidays and Seasons

La Primavera - Spring

Día de Los Muertos - Day of the Dead - November 1 & 2

Feliz Navidad - Christmas - December 25

La Primavera

La Primavera Links

Although we are just now entering spring, or primavera, in the Spanish-speaking world south of the equator, they are beginning autumn, or otoño. No matter where they live, Spanish-speaking people continue celebrating their love of life. The festivals and celebrations which occur during this time of the year are Easter, Cinco de Mayo, a couple of independence days, and, of course, Mothers' Day.

Christians are preparing for la Pascua Florida, sometimes called la Pascua de Resurreción, or, as we call it, Easter. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. But Easter is not just a day, it is a whole series of events including the carnival period leading up to Semana Santa (Holy Week), miércoles de ceniza (Ash Wednesday), and domingo de Pascua (Easter Sunday). The season begins with Carnival. This period is marked by great merrymaking and feasting before the period of Lent. Carnival actually means, "to do away with meat." You can see the Spanish translation for meat, carne, in the word. Carnivals are celebrated with pageants and parades in many countries. The festivities come to a head on Shrove Tuesday or what is called in the United States, Mardi Gras. Shrove Tuesday is right before Ash Wednesday. On this day, people attend a special mass in the Catholic Church and get a cross of ashes put on their forehead. You may have seen some people with this on their heads, or you may have gotten some yourself. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, what is called in Spanish Cuaresma.  Cuaresma looks like the number cuarenta, or forty. Lent is a forty-day period before Easter during which people pledge to give up something that they enjoy in order to show their devotion to the church.

The final week of Lent is known as Semana Santa, or Holy Week.  Semana Santa commemorates the final week of Christâs life and is marked by grand processions through the streets of the cities. The processions often carry statues or icons representing the suffering of Christ. You can find more information on la Pascua Florida and Semana Santa by clicking on any of the highlighted words or going to the Primavera links to check out our links.

Easter is not the only event to occur during this time of the year. March 21st is the birthday of Benito Juarez, a famous Mexican leader who rose from humble origins as a Zapotec Indian to become president of the country.

May 5th,  Cinco de Mayo, celebrates the battle of Puebla during the Mexican War of Independence from France. President Juarez sent General Zaragosa to Puebla to defend it against the well armed and well-trained French troops. Although the Mexican troops were out-manned and lacking in arms, the bravery of the soldiers and future president Porfirio Diaz led to a rout of the French forces. Though the holiday is little remembered in Mexico, Mexican-Americans in the United States and other parts of the world enjoy getting together on this day to recall the bravery of their ancestors by celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

Paraguay and Cuba celebrate their Independence Days on May 14th and 20th respectively. Paraguay actually celebrates on the 14th and the 15th; some of my Paraguayan friends used to say that this is so they can have two days off. Did you know that Paraguay is also one of the only countries in the world to have two different sides to its flag. See if you can find out what they both are. You can find one side of the flag in Unit 8 of the Elementary Spanish Program for Grades 3-4.

Finally, May is the month when people celebrate el Día de las Madres, Mothersâ Day. Just as here in the United States, people love their mothers and recognize one day a year as special. Here in the U.S. we always mark the second Sunday in May. In Mexico and many other countries they have identified the day as May 10.

I hope you all have a wonderful Primavera. Try looking up more information on some of the events that I have pointed out to you here and remember to keep practicing your Spanish.

 R. Scott Morris, Spanish Television Teacher

Día de los Muertos

El Día de los Muertos, or All Souls' Day as it is called in English, is a day in which the ancient and modern embrace in Mexican culture. Sometimes translated literally as "The Day of the Dead," there is nothing morbid or frightening about this day of celebration and remembrance of the dear, but departed.

In this annual, special cultural lesson taught for students learning Spanish from the Elementary Spanish programs produced by Northern Arizona University, students will see a video filmed on location in Mexico of the observance of the holiday in Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, to see how people in this part of Mexico celebrate the day.

Additionally, students and teachers will see how they can participate in activities, learn poems, and prepare traidtional foods in a commemorative learning experience they will not forget.

Feliz Navidad

Acitivites
Links
Recipe
Songs
Vocabulary

How long does Christmas last around your house? Is it just the one day? Do you celebrate the twelve days of Christmas? Well, in most Spanish-speaking countries the season begins on December 16 with Las Posadas and continues until January 6 with the Día de los Reyes. That's three weeks! But people celebrate Christmas differently in different Spanish-speaking countries and certainly differently from how we do here in the United States.  

 Christmas, or Navidad in Spanish-speaking countries, is as varied as the many places it is enjoyed. However, in almost every Hispanic country of the world, you will find that the people set up a Nacimiento or nativity scene. These scenes depicting the birth of Christ and the manger scene can be anything from small, table-sized models that are set up on a table in the main room of the house, to elaborate structures that can take up an entire room. Sometimes communities get together and erect a neighborhood Nacimiento complete with live animals and people acting the parts of Mary, Joseph, and the Three Kings or Wise Men.

The custom of putting up a Christmas tree, as we know it, is limited to a few families who have adopted the tradition from the Euro-American culture. Most families do not use Christmas trees and Santa Claus is more of an imported phenomena that is found in larger cities in shopping malls. The gifts that the children receive in Hispanic countries are brought by the Three Kings, much as they did during the birth of Christ. 

The Christmas season begins December 16 with Las Posadas. These nightly processions go on for nine days to reenact the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. People gather each of the nights and go from house to house, singing songs and seeking refuge. They are turned away from several homes until they reach a friendly home that invites everyone in. Here, the participants have a party including food and drink, and a pi‚ata for the children.

 Las Posadas  continue every night until December 24. On the final night of Las Posadas the procession simulates the arrival to Bethlehem with an even greater feast and celebration.   Typical foods that they may eat include pozole, empanadas, sweet tamales, and bu‚uelos.  Christmas Eve is called Nochebuena or the Good Night. At midnight on Christmas eve, the Catholic church has a Misa de Gallo. Literally "The Mass of the Rooster," this is the only midnight mass of the year. Afterwards people go home to their beds to sleep and await Christmas morning. On Christmas morning the children awaken to find...NO PRESENTS. Christmas day is reserved for feasting and getting together with family and friends.  

 December 28 is the Día de los Inocentes or The Day of the Innocents. This is similar to our "April Fool's Day." On this day, tricks and pranks are played on the unsuspecting. They say that any money that is lent on this day does not have to be repaid.

 The  Víspera del A‚o Nuevo or New Year's Eve is celebrated on December 31st with more parties and the custom of eating twelve grapes as the clock strikes the midnight hour. Each grape represents good luck in each month of the upcoming year.

 Then, on January 6th, comes the Día de los Reyes, the Day of the Three Kings or the Día de los Reyes Magos, the Day of the Magic Kings. In most Spanish-speaking countries it is the Kings who bring the gifts to the children. In preparation for the visit of the Kings, children leave out straw and carrots for the two horses and a camel that carry the Kings and the gifts. They also place their shoes near the straw for their gifts to be placed in. When they awaken in the morning, young people find toys and prizes in their shoes. If they have not behaved themselves, they find coal in their shoes.

 La Navidad is a wonderful season in Spanish-speaking countries. The description here is only a brief overview. If you would like to learn more about the customs and traditions surrounding the holiday, try checking out some of the  links to other sites that I have found. Or you might want to try making cookies, luminarias, decorations, or even a piñata. Plans and recipes can be found in the activities section. And don't forget that we also have the  Cultural Videos including Luz y colorido: La Navidad en la Ciudad de México or Light and Color: Christmas in Mexico City which includes a tape and resource booklet. Finally, I recommend going to your local library to look for books on Christmas customs in other countries. I have found the following books to be very good:

• La Navidad: Christmas in Spain and Latin America 
  by Agnes M. Brady and  Margarita Márquez de Moats, 1986, ISBN 0-8442-7208-6
  National Textbook Company, 4255 West Touhy Avenue
  Chicago, Illinois  60646, (800) 323-4900

 
• Christmas in Mexico by Corinne Ross, 1995,
  ISBN 0-8442-7209-4


• Christmas in Spain by Valjean McLenighan, 1995,  
  ISBN  0-8442-7205-1 World Book Publishing  525 W. Monroe Street, 20th Floor  Chicago, Illinois  60661  (800) 621-8202 (Customer Service)

I hope that you get a chance to find more information on Christmas in Hispanic countries and try some of the activities and songs that are included here. Wishing you a Feliz Navidad and a Próspero Año Nuevo.  

Roberto Scott Morris
Spanish Television Teacher