Of Christian origin, Easter, or Pascua in Spanish, is celebrated by many around the world, including in Spanish-speaking countries. Regardless of religion, however, Easter has evolved into many fun traditions that may be observed by Christians and non-Christians alike. Let's talk about some religious and non-religious Easter customs in the Spanish-speaking world and beyond, along with some Spanish vocabulary to describe them.
Holy Week, or Semana Santa, is an important festive period for many Catholics and other Christians worldwide that commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Cristo (Jesus Christ) and is celebrated with particular fervor in Spain and Latin America. While there are variations among the different countries' festivities, common costumbres (customs) include attending church, the sharing of special foods, the blessing and distribution of palm leaves and days of elaborate procesiones with special floats and statues, as we can hear about and catch a glimpse of in the following clips:
más de cincuenta mil personas se visten de nazarenos para desfilar por las calles y para acompañar a las figuras religiosas.
more than fifty thousand people dress as Nazarenes to parade through the streets and to accompany the religious figures.
Captions 41-44, Raquel Fiestas de España
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Todo esto sin olvidar el sentimiento religioso; la Semana Santa de Málaga es la particular forma de los malagueños de vivir su fe.
All of this without forgetting the religious sentiment; Málaga's Holy Week is the people from Málaga's particular way of living their faith.
Captions 33-35, Málaga Semana Santa
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Now let's look at a list of useful Spanish vocabulary related to some of the days and customs of the Semana Santa season:
la Cuaresma: Lent
el Domingo de Ramos: Palm Sunday
el Miércoles de Ceniza: Ash Wednesday
el Miércoles Santo: Spy Wednesday
el Jueves Santo: Maundy Thursday
el Viernes Santo: Good Friday
El Domingo de Pascua/de Resurección/de Gloria: Easter Sunday
El Lunes de Pascua/de Resurección: Easter Monday
bendecir: to bless
los católicos: the Catholics
los cristianos: the Christians
el día de ayuno: the fasting day
las hojas de palmera: the palm leaves
la iglesia: the church
la imagen/el paso: the statue
el trono: the float/throne
Let's hear a couple of these pronounced:
Y el tambor se toca desde Miércoles Santo a las cuatro de la tarde hasta Domingo de Resurrección
And the drum is played from Holy Wednesday at four o'clock in the afternoon until Easter Sunday
Captions 48-49, Francisco Javier de España Su trabajo y su ciudad en La Mancha
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Interestingly, many of the non-religious Easter symbols and traditions that are celebrated around the world actually have religious origins. For example, eggs, chickens and rabbits are symbols of fertility, rebirth and new life that many associate with Jesus' resurrection. However, for many others, these objects and activities are merely fun and festive annual traditions. Let's learn some Spanish vocabulary to describe some of them:
la búsqueda/la caza de huevos de Pascua: the Easter egg hunt
la cesta de Pascua: the Easter basket
el chocolate: the chocolate
el conejo de Pascua: the Easter Bunny
el cordero: the lamb
las flores: the flowers
el huevo de Pascua: the Easter egg
el pollito: the chick
la primavera: the spring
el sombrero de primavera: the Easter bonnet
teñir/pintar huevos: to dye/color eggs
We can hear many of these together in Yabla's video on basic Easter vocabulary, some captions from which we can hear below:
Cinco, caza del huevo de Pascua.
Five, Easter egg hunt.
Caption 9, Vocabulario básico Feliz Pascua
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Uno, el conejo de Pascua.
One, the Easter Bunny.
Caption 5, Vocabulario básico Feliz Pascua
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Dos, la cesta de Pascua.
Two, the Easter basket.
Caption 6, Vocabulario básico Feliz Pascua
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To conclude this lesson, it would be behoove us to know how to wish someone a "Happy Easter" in Spanish:
"Felices fiestas" o "Felices Pascuas".
"Happy Holidays" or "Happy Easter."
Caption 13, Aprendiendo con Silvia Felicitar y expresar buenos deseos - Part 2
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Just like any other language, Spanish has adopted many words from different languages and cultures. These words are known in Spanish as extranjerismos, a term that comes from the word extranjero (foreign). That said, let's take a look at some of the most common words in Spanish that come from other languages.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the Spanish language adopted several Arabic words. Let's see some of them:
Soy Miguel Ángel Herrera, alcalde de Genalguacil,
I'm Miguel Angel Herrera, mayor of Genalguacil,
Captions 2-3, Viajando con Fermín Genalguacil - Part 2
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el álgebra, que estudia las estructuras abstractas,
algebra, which studies abstract structures,
Captions 48-49, Carlos explica Vocabulario de las matemáticas - Part 1
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con media taza de azúcar
with half a cup of sugar,
Caption 25, Ana Carolina Ponche navideño
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aprendí a tocar la guitarra de una manera diferente
I learned to play the guitar in a different manner
Caption 55, Luis Guitarra Influencias musicales - Part 1
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saben a naranja.
taste like orange.
Caption 34, Ariana Cita médica
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If you hear the way Ariana pronounces the word naranja, you can notice the strong sound of the letter "j," which is a sound that the Spanish language took from the Arabic language.
Just like in the English language, Spanish has also adopted many words derived from French. Let's see some of the most popular ones:
hasta lo que hoy es conocido como el Bulevar donostiarra,
to what is known today as the "Bulevar donostiarra" [Donostiarra Boulevard]
Caption 28, Días festivos La Tamborrada de San Sebastián
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que Amalia se quedó con él y con el chofer, ¿sí?
because Amalia stayed with him and with the driver, right?
Caption 28, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 2 - Part 9
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unas estructuras de poder muy basadas en la élite, en la exclusión.
some power structures [that were] very based on the elite, on exclusion.
Caption 12, Los Tiempos de Pablo Escobar Capítulo 1 - Part 1
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Many words from various indigenous Latin American cultures were incorporated into the Spanish language after the arrival of the Spaniards to the Americas. The following are some of the most popular words:
Ellos jugaban con una pelota de caucho
They played with a rubber ball
Caption 85, Guillermo el chamán La cosmología de los mayas
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guitarra, cuatro, güiro, maraca, bongo,
guitar, cuatro, güiro, maraca, bongo [drum],
Caption 32, Sonido Babel La plena de Puerto Rico
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En los Andes se usa mucha papa y muchas cremas.
In the Andes, many potatoes are used and many creams.
Captions 75-76, Recetas de cocina Papa a la Huancaína
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¿Qué es realmente el tomate?
What really is the tomato?
Caption 30, Fermín Ensalada de tomate
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Many Italian words made their way into the Spanish language during the Renaissance. Let's check out two of them:
Tomo unos mates en el balcón
I have some servings of mate on the balcony
Caption 7, GoSpanish La rutina diaria de Sol
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basada en una novela de Paul van Loon
based on a novel by Paul van Loon
Caption 4, Europa Abierta Fucsia la pequeña bruja
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And last but not least, we have extranjerismos that come from the English language. Here a few:
que hagan un perímetro por dentro y por fuera del club, vaya.
that they should surround us inside and outside the club, come on.
Caption 13, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 5 - Part 12
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El fútbol es un deporte que fue inventado en Inglaterra
Soccer is a sport that was invented in England
Caption 8, Sergio El fútbol en España
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In this translation, we used the word "soccer" instead of "football." However, the Spanish word comes from the original British term "football."
La India Catalina era la líder de la tribu indígena que habitó en la ciudad, anteriormente llamada la Isla Calamarí.
India Catalina was the leader of the indigenous tribe who inhabited the city, previously called Calamari Island.
Captions 26-27, Viajando en Colombia Cartagena en coche - Part 3
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una ciudad cosmopolita, luminosa y que pone al servicio del turista una amplia variedad de infraestructuras.
a cosmopolitan, luminous city that puts at the service of the tourist a wide variety of infrastructures.
Captions 10-11, Málaga Semana Santa
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That's all for this lesson. We hope you enjoyed this list of foreign-influenced words in Spanish. Can you think of any additional extranjerismos in Spanish? Don't forget to let us know with your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
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