A Year of Holidays in Spanish

Since 2023 has only just begun, there’s a whole year of holidays ahead of us. If you’re a planner, you might already be thinking of how you’re hoping to spend time off of work and school! If you prefer more spontaneous activities, keep this vocabulary in mind when the time comes to celebrate. When it comes to Holidays in Spanish, remember that not all holidays are celebrated everywhere. We’ll show you some holidays you might want to talk about, and new ones you might hear about!

Holidays in Spanish for the native English-speaker

These are some holidays that you might be familiar with as an English speaker, since they tend to be common in the English-speaking world. We’ll also tell you the date in Spanish too for the holidays that happen on the same day every year, just as a little bit of added practice. Remember, the formula for the date is “el + day + de + month”.

1. El Año Nuevo – New Year’s Day: el 1 (primero) de enero
2. El Día de San Valentín/El día del amor y la amidad – Valentine’s Day: el 14 de febrero
3. El Día de San Patricio – Saint Patrick’s Day: el 17 de marzi
4. La Pascua – Easter: Depends on the year
5. El Día de los Santos Inocentes – April Fool’s Day: El 1 (primero) de abril
6. El Día de la Madre – Mother’s Day: different, depending on the country
7. El Día del Padre – Father’s Day: different, depending on the country
8. La Noche de Brujas – Halloween: el 31 de octubre
9. El Día de Acción de Gracias – Thanksgiving: different, depending on the country
10. La Noche Buena – Christmas Eve: el 24 de diciembre
11. La Navidad – Christmas Day: el 25 de diciembre
12. La Nochevieja – New Year’s Eve: el 31 de diciembre

Holidays of the Spanish-speaking world

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In the Spanish-speaking world, there are holidays that native English speakers might not know a lot about, or maybe haven’t even heard of. Here are some holidays that you might encounter as you continue learning Spanish:

1. El Día de los Reyes Magos – Three King’s Day: el 6 de enero. For lots of kids around the world, this is the day where the 3 Wise Men, or 3 Kings, bring gifts to children, like they brought gifts to baby Jesus
2. La Semana Santa – The holy week of Easter: Many Spanish-speaking countries celebrate the entire week of Easter
3. El 5 de Mayo – Many parts of Mexico celebrate this, as well as the Mexicans in the United States. It’s not Mexican Independence Day, but a day to remember the Battle of Puebla.
4. Los Sanfermines – Festival of San Fermín: el 6 de julio – el 14 de julio. You might have heard of this Pamplona holiday as the running of the bulls!
5. El Día de los Muertos – Day of the Dead: el 1 (primero) de noviembre – el 2 de noviembre. This holiday remembers loved ones who have passed. Remember, it’s not Halloween!
6. Las Posadas – “The Inns”: el 16 de diciembre – el 24 de diciembre. Throughout Mexico and Central America, participants reenact the journey Mary and Joseph made for a place where Mary could give birth to baby Jesus.

With these dates, you’ll be prepared to talk about your plans, favorite traditions and learn more about culture in the Spanish-speaking world!