Use of "se" and writing a date in Spanish

Question

Context:The Battle of Puebla is celebrated in the spring.

La batalla de Puebla se celebra en la primavera.

a. La fecha es el 5 de mayo. Is this the correct way to write the date, "May 5"?

b. Why is "se" used before "celebrar"? Is it a reflexive pronoun?

c. I remember another post where the answer also was, the "se" is needed to make a complete Spanish sentence, otherwise it would not be correct?

Answer 1

The "se" is needed before celebrar because the sentence is in the passive voice (the subject is receiving the action; the battle of Puebla isn't doing the celebrating, it is being celebrated.) So, no, it is not reflexive in this case. If you were to take the "se" out it would read "The battle celebrates in the spring"

I haven't quite gotten to the passive voice, but at least I know the use of "se" is important in Spanish. Thanks for your complete answer! - bandit51jd, Jan 26, 2011