Traditional Hispanic Holidays impact American traditions

While Hispanics enjoy the traditional celebrations that most of the American public enjoys, like birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas, the culture has several holidays that are special to them year round.

Most Hispanic cultures celebrate Día de los Reyes Magos, which is related to Christmas in that it is the day that the wise men, or magi, were said to deliver their presents to the baby Jesus. This holiday is on January 5-6, the earliest important holiday on the calendar.

In Mexico, February 2 is Día de la Constitución, or Constitution Day. The following month, Spain celebrates an important five days in their history, Las Fallas de Valencia, from March 15 to March 19.

Semana Santa is a celebration that takes place around Easter. According to classzone.com, “Entire communities come together for Semana Santa celebrations. In some places, religious processions fill the streets each day of the week from Palm Sunday to Easter; in others, Thursday and Friday are the most important days. Most Semana Santa traditions are hundreds of years old and originated in Spain, but many now have a unique twist due to the mix of cultures in each country.”

Most people are familiar with the Mexican celebration of Cinco de Mayo, but later in the year, El Salvadorians celebrate Fiestas Patronales de San Salvador the first six days of August. The last Wednesday of that month, Spain celebrates La Tomatina, which, according to Wikipedia, is “a festival… in which participants throw tomatoes and get involved in a tomato fight purely for entertainment purposes.” This is the same month that Fairfield hosts the Tomato Festival in California, but this practice has not come to our area yet.

Finally, a popular holiday throughout most of the Latino culture is El Día de Muertos or The Day of the Dead. It begins with Halloween and lasts until November 2.

Which of these holidays have you heard of? Which have you celebrated? Feel free to comment and share your experiences.