Let's learn some vocabulary to talk about the North American holiday el Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving) in Spanish! 

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When Is Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving takes place cada año (each year) on el cuarto jueves de noviembre (the fourth Thursday in November), which is, of course, la estación de otoño (the fall season). For a plethora of fall-related words, check out this lesson on Spanish Vocabulary for the Autumn Season.

The History of Thanksgiving 

La historia (the history) of Thanksgiving is polémica  (controversial). Although many of us learned about a harmonious festín (feast) between los peregrinos (the pilgrims) and los nativos de América del Norte (the Native Americans), the previous and subsequent bloodshed have led many to rethink the way Thanksgiving is taught or whether they should celebrate it. In fact, many Native American tribes observe Thanksgiving as a day of luto (mourning).

That said, the idea of dar las gracias (giving thanks) is una costumbre (a tradition) that predates the so-called first Thanksgiving in mil seiscientos veintiuno, or 1621 (See this lesson on saying the years in Spanish!). It is a federal holiday in the United States that is cherished by many for the purpose of juntarse (getting together) with one's seres queridos (loved ones) to darse un banquete (feast) and festejar (celebrate) the things for which they feel agradecidos (grateful).

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Traditional Thanksgiving Feast

Although the pilgrims probably didn't eat Turkey at the first Thanksgiving, it has become the staple of many Thanksgiving meals:

Un pavo real como los peregrinos. 

A real turkey like the pilgrims.

Caption 60, Calle 13 Cumbia de los Aburridos

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Here are some additional Thanksgiving food words that might come in handy:

Apple pie: el pastel de manzana, la torta de manzana

Brussels sprouts: los coles de Bruselas, los repollitos de Bruselas

Dinner rolls: los pancitos, los panecillos, los rollos

Corn: el maíz

Gravy: la salsa de carne, la salsa espesa, la salsa

Pecan pie: la tarta de nuez pecana, la tarta de pecana

Pumpkin pie: el pastel de calabaza

Yams: los ñames

Thanksgiving Activities and Symbols

In addition to comer (eating), many people congregate to watch fútbol americano (football) or view the famous desfile (parade) the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, be it on TV or en persona (in person).

They might also decorate their homes with such Thanksgiving símbolos (symbols) as las velas (candles), el maíz criollo (Indian corn), las calabazas (gourds), and los cuernos de la abundancia (cornucopias or horns of plenty). 

However, the most important Thanksgiving activity (and indeed every day!) is giving thanks, which we think Claudia Montoya sings quite nicely about this in this clip:

Por eso cada día quiero dar las gracias Por todo lo que yo tengo, también lo que no tengo

That's why I want to give thanks every day For everything I have, what I don't have as well

Captions 12-13, Claudia Montoya Volverte a abrazar

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Some other ways to talk about being grateful and giving thanks in Spanish include:

agradecer: to thank, to express gratitude/thanks

estar agradecido/a por: to be grateful for

sentirse afortunado/a: to feel fortunate/blessed

sentirse bendecido/a: to feel blessed

sentirse agradecido/a por lo que uno tiene:  to count one's blessings (literally "to be grateful for what one has")

las bendiciones: the blessings

On that note, les agradecemos mucho (We thank you very much) for reading this lesson on Thanksgiving terms in Spanish. We hope you've enjoyed it, and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments. 

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Let's learn some Spanish expressions related to the summer season.

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Hace, the impersonal form of the verb hacer (to do, to make) is essential to talk about the weather in Spanish. Do you want to know how to say "it's hot"?

Ferné, sopla esa gaita que hace calor.

Ferné, blow those bagpipes 'cuz it's hot.

Caption 75, Calle 13 - Cumbia de los Aburridos

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In Spanish you can talk about the sun as being caliente or caluroso (both words mean "hot") or fuerte (strong):
 

Y no es un sol tan fuerte y tan caluroso como en verano.

And it's not a sun as strong and as hot as during the summer.

Caption 23, Azotea Del Círculo de Bellas Artes - Andrés nos enseña una nueva perspectiva

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Of course, you can also talk about the sun as being radiante (radiant):
 

Como pueden ver es un sol radiante.

As you can see it's a radiant sun.

Caption 45, Cabarete - Charlie el taxista

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Check out how Spanish uses the verb tomar (to take) to express the action of getting sun:
 

Y también me alegra que esté tomando sol

And it also makes me happy that she is getting sun

porque últimamente está muy pálida.

because lately she's very pale.

Captions 24-25, Muñeca Brava - 33 El partido

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If you get sun te bronceas (you get a tan), and having una piel bronceada (a tan skin, the verb is derived from the word bronce) is nice. 
 

Ir a tomar sol con ella y su bronceador

Go sunbathe with her and her suntan lotion

Caption 29, Enanitos Verdes - Cuánto Poder

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But if you get too much sun te quemas (you get sunburn)! Some people may even like this, but it's not really a healthy thing to do. You may hear some Spanish speakers use the expression estar quemado as a synonym of estar bronceado:
 

A mí me encanta estar quemada

I love being tan

pero este sol me recalienta la cabeza,

but this sun is overheating my head,

los sesos, así que me voy adentro.

my brains, so I'm going inside.

Captions 22-23, Muñeca Brava - 30 Revelaciones

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We say it's better to use bloqueador solar (sunscreen), don't you think? Did you notice the verb recalentar (to overheat)?

By the way, the word calor (heat) is one of those Spanish nouns of indeterminate gender, like el sartén/la sartén (the pan), la azúcar/el azúcar (the sugar), etc. This means that both forms of the noun, masculine and feminine, are considered correct by the DRAE. However, the use of one form or the other can tell you a lot about who the speaker is. For example, the use of la calor is common in the coastal regions of Peru and many small town across all Latin America, but it's still considered incorrect (even a sign of lack of education) by many Spanish speakers, who don't necessarily (and why would they) catch up with the many updates and revisions done to the DRAE by the Real Academia Española. Here are two examples:
 

Pero la calor en verano es un poco mala.

But the heat in summer is a bit bad.

Caption 43, Clara y Cristina - Hablan de actividades

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A ti como que el calor te está afectando las neuronas, ¿verdad?

For you [it's] like the heat is affecting your brain cells, right?

Caption 26, NPS No puede ser - 1 - El concurso

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What we do recommend is to stick to the use of only one form, whichever you prefer. If you like to say la calor always use the feminine, if you like to use el calor, well, stick to the masculine. Apply this advice to similar words like el sartén/la sartén (the pan), la azúcar/el azúcar (the sugar). As an exception, the noun la mar/el mar (the sea), a summer word for many indeed, comes to mind. Our take on this word is that you use el mar when talking about the sea in a very practical way, for example:

Bajando por todo el mar Mediterráneo

Going down along the whole Mediterranean Sea [coast]

Caption 49, Álvaro - Arquitecto Español en Londres

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And use la mar for when you want to get poetic:

Muchos son los talentos que se pierden en la mar

A lot of talents get lost in the sea

Caption 16, La Mala Rodriguez - La Niña

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The Spanish verb dar means "to give." However, Spanish uses this verb in many more ways than the English verb "to give." A basic dictionary reports more than forty different uses for it. We already have a lesson exploring some of them. But since the list is long, let's explore another use of the verb dar by analyzing examples found in our catalog of authentic Spanish videos. 

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Let's focus on the expression estar dando, which literally means "to be giving" as in El papá le está dando dinero a su hijo (the father is giving money to his son). Since Spanish uses dar in many more ways than English uses "to give," you will find that estar dando is used in a much broader sense too. For example:
 

...porque le está dando la luz al monumento.

...because it is lighting the monument.

Caption 26, Club de las ideas - De profesión

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Let's analyze this construction for a moment. It uses dando (giving), which is the gerundio of the verb dar, followed by the noun luz (light) to express a continuous action. It's not that Spanish lacks more orthodox options to express continuous actions. In Spanish, you can also directly use the gerundio of the verb iluminar (to light): porque está iluminando al monumento (because it is lighting the monument). This is how English usually expresses these continuous actions anyway, by using verbs with the -ing ending, like "lighting." The Spanish use of dando is just an alternative, one that not all verbs would accept. In fact, if you look closely at the last examples in the following list, you'll notice that the alternative using "giving" also exists in English, with certain verbs.

Lucía está dando gritos - Lucía está gritando / Lucia is shouting
Estás brincando - Estás dando brincos / You are jumping
Estamos informando - Estamos dando información / We're informing - We're giving information
Estoy coloreando - Estoy dando color / I'm coloring - I'm giving color
Estoy amando - Estoy dando amor / I'm loving - I'm giving love
Le estamos dando molestias - Le estamos molestando / We are bothering you - We are giving you trouble

Note that you can't always do these substitutions with all verbs. The example with the verb comer (to eat) is very illustrative: Elvira está comiendo (Elvira is eating) and Elvira está dando comida (Elvira is giving food) don't mean the same thing. But you can get away with it if you use the verb alimentar (to feed): Elvira está alimentando and Elvira está dando alimento mean exactly the same: "Elvira is feeding." 

Here are more examples:
 

Me tiene dando vueltas como torbellino.

You have me spinning like a whirlwind.

Caption 61, Calle 13 - Cumbia de los Aburridos

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Ahí le vamos dando la forma, despacio.

There we go about shaping it, slowly. [There we go about giving it shape, slowly]

Caption 26, Recetas de cocina - Arepas colombianas

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Here is another example with a slightly different construction but the same principle:
 

Otras más polémicas son las de la Virgen María

Other more controversial ones are those of the Virgin Mary

dando el pecho en el portal de Belén.

breastfeeding in the Nativity scene.

Caption 12, Europa Abierta - Joaquín Pérez - Escultor de belenes

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By the way, in Spanish, there is also a verb for breast-feeding, it's amamantar. So it's also correct to say la Virgen María amamantando en el portal de Belén (the Virgin Mary breast-feeding in Bethlehem's stable).

Con todo el quilombo que tuve ¿qué querés?

With all the mess that I had, what do you expect?

Se me escapó.

It came out.

Captions 18-19, Yago - 4 El secreto - Part 2

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Now, if you have a taste for more exotic words, we suggest you learn them from the masters, Puerto Rican band Calle 13, who give us three colorful expressions: bullanga (ruckus), burundanga (mess/disarray) and jolgorio (revelry):

Se formó el jolgorio en el purgatorio

Revelry went on in purgatory

Caption 58, Calle 13 - Tango del pecado

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