Semana santa, Pascua Judía, o "Vacaciones de primavera" como
llaman esta semana en Estados Unidos para sustituir el término
 Pascua o Semana Santa.

Sin embargo, para aproximadamente el 35% de la población mundial,
 son vacaciones de Semana Santa, última semana de la Pascua.

La Pascua en nuestros días procede de dos tradiciones antiguas:
 una judeo cristiana y otra pagana. Tanto cristianos como
 paganos celebran los temas de la muerte y la resurrección
 desde hace milenios refiriéndose al equinoccio de primavera.
Por lo que parece probable que la Pascua cristiana 
absorbiese gradualmente los símbolos tradicionales de las
celebraciones teutónicas de la primavera.

Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one 
Judeo-Christian and the other Pagan. Both Christians and
 Pagans have celebrated death and resurrection themes following 
the Spring Equinox for millennia. It seems probable that Christian
 Easter gradually absorbed the traditional symbols of the Teutonic
 springtime celebrations.

El equinoccio ocurre todos los
años los días 20,21 o 22 de
 marzo. Los paganos
celebraban sus festejos la
 víspera o el día 
mismo del equinoccio. Los
 cristianos occidentales
 celebran Pascua el primer
 domingo de, o después de,
 la luna llena del 21 de marzo
(fecha fijada por el Concilio
 de Nicea en el año 325). Este año del 5 al 13 de Abril.
Las iglesias ortodoxas, siguiendo un cálculo distinto celebran
la Pascua semanas después. Este año del 19 al 26 de Abril.
Los judíos celebran la Pascua (pésaj- Fiesta del Paso), para
conmemorar el Éxodo de Egipto y la liberación de los
judíos de la esclavitud (no se sabe si en 1440 ó en 1290 a.C.).
 Dura ocho días, este año del 7 al 15 de Abril.

The equinox occurs each year on March 20, 21 or 22. Pagans usually 
 hold their celebrations on the day or eve of the equinox. Western 
Christians celebrate Easter on the first Sunday on or after the full
 moon of March 21st (date established by the Council of Nicaea in
 325).This year from 5th to 13th April.
The Eastern Orthodox churches following a different calculation,
 celebrate Easter many weeks after. This year from 19th to 26th April.
Jewish people celebrate Passover (Pesach -) commemorating the 
Exodus from Egypt and the liberation of the Israelites from slavery
 (in 1440 or 1290 BC). It lasts eight days, this year from April, 7 to April, 15.

Para los cristianos, la Semana Santa
 es la última semana de Cuaresma
 antes de Pascua. Empieza el
Domingo de Ramos y acaba
 el Sábado Santo.
Recuerda y celebra los momentos
 finales de la vida de Jesús de Nazaret.
Los tres últimos días de la Semana
 Santa forman el llamado Triduo 
Pascual en los que se celebra
la Pasión, Muerte y Resurrección de Jesús.

For Christians, Holy Week is the last
 week of Lent and the week before 
 Easter. It begins on Palm Sunday 
and finishes on Holy Saturday.
It remembers and commemorates Jesus of Nazareth's final moments.
The final three days of Holy Week are called Paschal Triduum when
 Jesus' Passion, Death and Resurrection are commemorated.

Domingo de ramos
El sexto domingo de Cuaresma celebra la entrada triunfal de
 Jesús en Jerusalén donde iba a asistir a la Pascua judía.
Las ceremonias litúrgicas de ese día incluyen la bendición de las
palmas y ramas de olivo o laurel que llevan en sus manos los fieles.
 El color litúrgico es el rojo.

Palm Sunday
The sixth Sunday of Lent commemorates Jesus' triumphal 
entry into Jerusalem.He went there to celebrate Passover. 
Worship services include blessing of the palms or olive tree branches 
that the worshipers carry. The liturgical colour is red.

En Gran Bretaña, en algunos sitios después del servicio se
 le da a la congregación unas galletas llamadas "Pax cakes"
(galletas de la paz), símbolo de paz y de buena voluntad,
sobre todo en Hereford y Worcester.
Al Domingo de Ramos también se le llama "Domingo de Higos"
porque, según la tradición, Jesucristo comió esa fruta despúes
 de su entrada a Jerusalén y hubo un tiempo en que se comían higos
  ese día.

In Britain, in some churches small buns called Pax Cakes (symbolic of 
 peace and goodwill) are given to the congregation after a Palm Sunday
 service, especially in Hereford and Worcester.
Palm Sunday is also called 'Fig Sunday' due to the tradition that 
Christ ate figs after his entry into Jerusalem and figs were once 
 traditionally eaten on this day.

Merry Christmas. Enjoy your holiday.

Did you Know...?

image via

To start this week before Christmas, here are some facts I bet you didn't know -at least I didn't some of them.

Para empezar esta semana antes de Navidad, aquí van unos datos que, apuesto, no conocíais. Por lo menos yo algunos, no. 

23rd April is an important date because two important and worldwide known writers died on this day: Cervantes and Shakespeare. It is a special day for England too: the day of the country's patron saint (St. George).

In 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Day) would be celebrated on this date because of the Catalonian festival and because the date is also the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare, the death of Miguel de Cervantes, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Josep Pla.

Although 23 April is often stated as the anniversary of the deaths of both William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes, this is not strictly correct. Cervantes died on 22 April and was buried on 23 April according the Gregorian calendar; however, at this time England still used the Julian calendar. While Shakespeare died on 23 April by the Julian calendar in use in his own country at the time, he actually died eleven days after Cervantes because of the discrepancy between the two date systems. The apparent correspondence of the two dates was a fortunate coincidence for UNESCO.

The exact day on which Shakespeare was born is actually unknown, but church records show that he was baptized on April 26, and three days was a customary amount of time to wait before baptizing a newborn.

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) was one of the world's greatest writers. He was born in Stratford-on-Avon and wrote thirty-seven plays.