Holiday question I was asked.....
What is La semana antes del domingo de Pascua? That is lent right? Is that called La Pascua?
5 Answers
Palm Sunday
Oop! You asked for the week not the Sunday before Easter.
Lent lasts 40 days (From Ash Wednesday to Easter). I think it is referred to as Holy Week.
I think Q is correct, the entire week is what we refer to as "Holy Week". It's complicated by the terms used to describe it.
"Pascha" is the Greek term for the Jewish Passover, the Hebrew word being pesach. The entire week prior to the Passover was "The Feast of Unleavened Bread", which was also referred to as "Passover Week" or even just "The Passover".
Over the centuries, Christianity turned it into a distinctly Christian holiday, but the roots of it, like all the roots of Christianity, are from the practice of Judaism. Thus, we have a holy Pascua week that corresponds somewhat to the Jewish Pascha week. (the timing difference is based on different calendars- the Jewish Passover is always on the 14th of Nisan, while the Christian Pascua is the 1st Sunday following the 1st full moon of Spring.)
Spanish calls the Christian holiday "La Pascua" which is perfectly in line with the Biblical text. (There is no word "Easter" in the Bible.)
La Semana Santa - Holy Week
El Domingo de Ramos - Palm Sunday
Lent, the 40 days before Easter is la cuaresma. holy week, the week before Easter, is la semana santa. Easter is la pascua. The week or so before Lent is Carnaval, which is like Mardi gras.
Well no because lent is the period from Ash Wednesday to the holy Saturday. This year Ash Wednesday fell on 25 February 2009, and Easter, la Pascua, was from 10 April to 13 April 2009.
