ImportantHolidays of SpanishSpeakingCountries
January 1 - Año Nuevo, New Year’s Day.
January 6 - Día de los Reyes Magos,
Epiphany/Three Kings Day. In manyCatholic
countries, thisis a time for Christmas fun. Traditionally
thechildrenreceivegiftsonthisdayratherthanon
Christmas.SincetheThree Kings(Los Reyes Magos)
broughtgifts, peopleexchangepresents and children
putouttheirshoesforthemagi to leavethepresents
inside.
April – Pascua/La Semana Santa, Easter/HolyWeek. Observed in Spain, Mexico and all of LatinAmerica. Easterisone of thehighestholydays of theyear. Theweekleading up to Easterinvolvessolemnprocessions, prayer, masses and otherpreparations. Customs in theUnitedStatesincludeMexicans’ cascarones, theMexicanversion of anEastereggoreggshells, filledwithconfetti. They are meant to be crackedonsomeone’s head as a funsurprise.
May 5 - Cinco de Mayo(México). Commemoratesthevictory of Mexicanforcesoverthe French army at theBattle of Puebla onMay 5, 1862. Itisprimarily a regional holidaycelebrated in theMexicanstate capital city of Puebla, and in otherparts of Mexico. Itisalsocelebrated in U.S. citieswith a significantMexicanpopulation. Itisnot, as manypeoplethink, Mexico’sIndependeceDay, whichisactuallySeptember 16.
September 16 - Mexican Independence Day. Celebratesthedaythat Miguel Hidalgo deliveredEl Grito, and announcedtheMexicanrevoltagainstSpanish rule.
November 1 & 2 - Día de los Muertos, Day of theDead
(Mexico, Central America). In mostregions of Mexico,
November 1 isa dayto honor deceasedchildren and is
referred to as Día de los Santos Inocentes* ("Holy
Innocents Day") orDía de los Angelitos ("Day of the
Little Angels".) Deceasedadults are honoredon
November 2 whichisknownas Día de los Muertos.
Traditionally, itisanobservance to celebrate and honor
one’sancestors and deceasedlovedones. It’sbasedon
thebeliefthatthereisinteractionbetweenthe living
world and theworld of spirits. OntheDía de los
Muertos,thespirits of thedead are said to come back
forfamilyreunions. Manycelebratesetting up ofrendas
(altars) in theirhomes to honor thememory of deceased
lovedones and to welcometheirvisitingsouls. Othersvisittheirlovedone’s grave and decorateitwithflowers, candles and food. Theholidayiscelebratedwithfamily and communitygatherings, music, and feasts. Thesefestivitiesacknowledgedeath as an integral partorlife.
* Día de losSantos Inocentesisnot to be confusedwithDía de los Inocentes (April Fool’sorAllFools’ Day) whichiscelebratedon April 1st in some áreas and duringthe Christmas holidays in others.
December 12 - Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe, theFeast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patronsaint of Mexico. TheVirgin Mary issaid to haveappeared to anIndian, Juan Diego onthis date in 1531.
December 16-24 - Las Posadas(Mexico, Guatemala and other Central American countries). Las Posadas commemoratethejourney of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and theirsearchfor a place to stay. Las Posadas is a nine-day celebration with origins in Spain, now celebrated mainly in Mexico, Guatemala and parts of the Southwestern United States, beginning December 16 and ending December 24. During the nine evenings there are many celebrations including processions, singing, parties, traditional foods, and piñatas.
December 24 & 25 - Nochebuena y Navidad,
Christmas Eve and Christmas. ManySpanish
speakingcountries are mostlyCatholic. All
dayisspentpreparingtraditionalfoodsfor
theeveningfeast, and manypeopleattend
La Misa del Gallo(Midnight Mass) on
Nochebuena (Christmas Eve.) Navidad
(Christmas Day) istraditionallyspentwith
family and is a day of resting.
December31 - Año Viejo,
New Year’sEve. “Año Viejo”literallymeans “oldyear”. There aremany Año Viejo traditions; Cubanseat 12 grapes at midnight to representgoodluck in the 12 months of the new year.