Latino Holidays

Jan. 1:
New Year's Day/New Year's Eve. In Latin America, families celebrate New Year's by attending mass or eating a big dinner together. In the United States, some traditions may be retained or blended with U.S. customs - television watching included. Miami Cuban Americans, in particular, still embrace an old-country tradition of eating twelve grapes in the seconds before the stroke of midnight. Each grape symbolizes the 12 months in the old year, and the year to come. Passed down from the Spanish, it's a wish for good luck in the new year. Many Latinos also continue the custom.

Jan.1:
Haitian Independence Day (from France in 1804).Jan. 1: Cuban holiday that commemorates the triumph of the Fidel Castro revolution in Cuba. Marks the anniversary of the day in 1959 when Castro's forces occupied Havana. Although it's celebrated in Cuba, Cuban Americans' opinions vary widely about this date, depending upon how they feel about Castro's Communist revolution.

Jan. 2:
Ancestors' Day in Haiti.

Jan. 6:
Día de Los Reyes Magos, the Day of the Three Kings, or the feast of the Epiphany. The day of the Reyes Magos is more important than Christmas in much of Latin America. A holiday with European roots, it's the day the magi, often presented as astrologers, followed a brilliant star to Bethlehem and found the baby Jesus. It's a day for the adoration of Jesus.

U.S. Latinos' observance of the holiday varies greatly because of work schedules and the U.S. children focus on Christmas. Still, some do celebrate. For example, instead of Santa, kids may wait on the magi to bring presents, symbolizing the magi's bearing of gifts to Jesus. Puerto Rican and Cuban children leave grass in shoeboxes to feed the magi's camels, while Mexican children may put out shoes for the magi to leave presents inside. In Sinsinawa, Wisc., Dominican Americans celebrate the holiday as a day for church worship and contemplation.

Jan. 10:
Birthday of Eugenio María de Hostos, a 19th-Century Puerto Rican educator and writer who fought Spain's colonial rule and helped abolish slavery in Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Jan. 21
The feast of Nuestra Señora de Altagracia, or Our Lady of Highest Grace, the patron virgin of the Dominican Republic. Latin countries, which have been significantly influenced by Catholicism, have patron virgins to venerate Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Jan. 26:
Juan Pablo Duarte Day. Commemorates the hero of Dominican independence from Haiti. Haitians occupied the Dominican Republic from 1822 to 1844.

Jan. 28:
Birth of Jose Martí, Cuban political activist, independence hero and poet who led the fight for Cuba's independence from Spain. Celebrated in Cuba and by Cuban exiled communities.

February

Feb. 27
Dominican Republic Independence Day and beginning of Dominican Carnaval. The pre-Lenten celebration coincides with the anniversary of the Dominican Republic's independence from Haiti. Feb. 27Haiti's Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Many Latino Catholics, depending on their nationality, celebrate before the Christian observance of Lent. Haitians begin their Carnaval on this day.

March
Cuban Americans in Miami hold the Calle Ocho (Eighth Street) festival right before Lent, usually near the beginning of March. The festival is named for the street that runs through the heart of Miami's Cuban community, known as Little Havana.

March 9
Baron Bliss Day, in honor of an English nobleman who visited Belize in the 1920s and left his fortune to the country.

March 12-19
The Bonfires of Valencia, or Las Fallas de Valencia, in Spain. Ultimately celebrating St. JosephÕs Day (March 19), gigantic papier-mache caricatures of famous people, which artists spend an entire year constructing, are set ablaze in hundreds of bonfires throughout Valencia.

March 21
Birth date of Benito Juárez, one of Mexico's most revered and loved presidents for policies that improved public schools and helped poor people.

March 22
Emancipation Day. Slaves in Puerto Rico were freed on this date in 1873.

March 31
César Chávez holiday honors the Mexican American labor and civil rights giant, whose birthday was this day. Chávez gained attention in the 1960s as the leader of the United Farm Workers. His non-violent advocacy approach - such as a national boycott of grapes - earned him worldwide respect.

His work won migrant workers their first labor contracts and basic services such as clean drinking water.

California, Arizona and Texas have made the day a state holiday; other states are considering doing so. Chávez died in 1993 at age 63.

April

Easter and La Semana Santa, or Holy Week: Easter is one of the highest holy days of the year for Latino Catholics. In Latin America and Spain, the week leading up to Easter involves solemn processions, prayer, masses and other preparation for Jesus' rebirth. Customs in the United States include Mexicans' cascarones, the Mexican version of an Easter egg, or eggshells filled with confetti. They're meant to be cracked on someone's head as a funny surprise.

May

May 5
Cinco de Mayo, or the Fifth of May. Contrary to what many people believe, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's independence day from Spain (for that, see Sept. 16). Rather, it's a remembrance of a David and Goliath-like fight. In 1862, as the French invasion of Mexico began, Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza's force of 4,000 soldiers defeated twice as many French soldiers in the Battle of Puebla. The French occupation would continue until 1866. But the Mexican soldiers' courage and determination inspired Mexican Americans. Even back then, historians say, California's Mexican Americans celebrated the win. Later, in the 1960s and '70s, Chicanos involved in the civil rights movement related the Cinco de Mayo story to their quest for respect in the United States. They identified with the Mexican Indian and mestizo (people of Mexican Indian and European descent) soldiers' triumph over European conquest attempts.

Chicano activists publicized it and made it a popular holiday in the United States. Today, it's become much like St. Patrick's Day. You don't have to be Mexican to celebrate itMay 10Día de Las Madres, or Day of the Mothers, is the Mexican observance of Mother's Day. Mexican Americans may celebrate the holiday May 10 or on the day of observance in the United States, or both. For example, when the day falls during the week, in some predominantly Mexican-American schools in Texas, educators give children the day off. Latinos of other nationalities celebrate the holiday on the U.S. Mother's Day or their native country's date of observance. Check with each country's consulate in Washington D.C. for the appropriate date or more information.

May 18
Haiti's Flag Day commemorates the island's independence from France in 1804 and its history. One of the biggest Haitian-American celebrations is in Spring Valley, NY on the Saturday closest to Flag Day. The party also celebrates the Haitian-American community's diversity

May 20
Cuba's birth as an independent republic in 1902. Cuba had been ruled by Spain from the 16th Century until 1898, when Spain ceded the island to the United States following its defeat in the Spanish-American War. Despite Cuba's establishment as an independent republic in 1902, the United States continued to intervene in Cuba's internal politics through the 1930s and beyond.

June
Second Sunday in June: The National Puerto Rican Day Parade is a New York tradition that honors the outstanding contributions of the Puerto Rican people to the city. The celebration of ethnic identity and pride began in 1958. In 2000, there were more than 100,000 marchers and 3 million spectators at the parade. Other cities such as Cleveland also have Puerto Rican Day parades.

June 24
The Feast of San Juan Bautista, or St. John the Baptist, celebrates the patron saint of the island's capital, San Juan. Some Puerto Rican celebrants dunk themselves in the ocean three times to cast off evil or negative energies.

The tradition is carried on by New York Puerto Ricans, or Nuyoricans, who may dunk themselves in Central Park's lake waters. Other Latinos celebrate the day as El D'a de San Pedro.

July

July 6-14:
Los Sanfermines, or the San Fermín Festival, or the Running of the Bulls. Pamplona, Spain's, world-famous festival dates to the 14th Century. It was popularized by U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway. From July 7 on, the bulls run every day from old town Pamplona to the main bullfighting plaza. Several U.S. cities also hold Sanfermines celebrations, even running bulls through their towns, including Oak Park, Ill., where Hemingway's home is a museum.July 19Nicaragua's Liberation Day, commemorating the 1979 Sandinista revolution. This isn't an official holiday anymore, but many still celebrate

July 25
Constitution Day in Puerto Rico. In 1952, the island was proclaimed a Commonwealth. Those who support the island's Commonwealth status embrace the day. Others who want to see the island become an independent nation or an official state of the United States use it to promote their beliefs.

July 26
Revolution Day in Cuba. The national holiday marks the anniversary of the 1953 attack by Fidel Castro's forces on the Moncada army barracks in Santiago de Cuba. Many see the date as the official beginning of Castro's rise to power; the Castro-led revolution triumphed in 1959. Many Cuban Americans in the United States who fled the island or oppose Castro's Communist revolution do not celebrate the day. (Also see Jan. 1.)

July 28 and 29St.
Ignatius of Loyola Festival or the Festival de San Ignacio de Loyola. St. Ignatius is the patron saint of the Basques, a region in northern Spain. One of the most important Basque festivals in the United States is hosted in Boise, Idaho. A strong enclave of Basque Americans, the city celebrates with outdoor picnics, Basque singers and the International Mus Tournament. Mus is a traditional Basque card game.

August

Aug 1-6
Feast of the Savior of the World or El Salvador del Mundo, patron saint of El Salvador. San Salvadorans celebrate with street fairs and a bajada, a procession honoring the saint.

September

Sept. 8
The feast of Nuestra Se–ora de la Caridad del Cobre, Cuba's patron Virgin. Also known as the Copper Virgin, or Virgin of Charity. On April 1, 1612, two native Indian slaves - brothers Rodrigo and Juan de Hoyos - and a 10-year-old slave from Africa named Moreno set out to find salt to preserve the meat at a nearby slaughterhouse in El Cobre, Cuba. Cuba had been occupied by the Spaniards for more than 100 years. The Spaniards had enslaved Cuban natives to work in mineral mines; many had died of exhaustion and disease.

So the Spaniards had imported African slaves to the island to supplement the slave workforce.

It was against this backdrop that Moreno and the brothers rowed across the Bay of Nipe to reach salt deposits and noticed something floating in the sea. They found a 15-inch statue of the Virgin Mary inscribed with the words, "Yo soy la Virgen de la Caridad" (I am the Virgin of Charity), according to Moreno's testimony. Her features were described as mulatto, the mixed ethnic heritage of many Cubans. Through the ages Cubans and Cuban Americans have prayed to her for support and inspiration, much like other Latinos pray to the Virgin of Guadalupe. A shrine was built for her in El Cobre, Cuba. She is known as Charita in Miami, and a shrine to her was consecrated there in 1973.

Second weekend of September:
Fiesta de Santa Fe commemorates the 1692 reconquest of Santa Fe, N.M., which had been seized from the Spanish by a Pueblo Indian revolt. Captain Don Diego de Vargas brought with him a statue called La Conquistadora, and vowed to hold a celebration in her honor if his troops were victorious. The first fiesta was celebrated in 1712. It is primarily a celebration of Santa Fe's Spanish Catholic heritage, but in the last decade the cultural contributions of New MexicoÕs Pueblo Indians have been recognized. The festivities begin with the burning of Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom, a 40-foot puppet representing all the bad feelings of the past year.

Independence Days

Throughout the month:
Latinos' home countries' or ancestors' countries' independence days are celebrated widely through the United States. They are not all in September; many dates are noted throughout this section. For more information, contact the country's embassy in Washington D.C.

September 15:
Independence Day for El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In Los Angeles, Salvadorans gather in the Pico Union area for a parade and party.Sept. 1616 de Septiembre, or Mexican Independence Day, observes Father Miguel Hidalgo's passionate call in 1810 for independence from 300 years of Spanish rule. Hidalgo made the call to arms at his church in Dolores, Guanajuato, a state in central Mexico, on the night of Sept. 15. Today, at parties from Detroit to Philadelphia to Los Angeles, Mexicans and Mexican Americans cry out the "Grito de Dolores," the cry for independence

Other countries

Independence days

Argentina: July 9
Belize: Sept. 21
Bolivia: Aug. 6
Brazil: Sept. 7 (from Portugal)
Chile: Sept. 18
Colombia: July 20
Ecuador: Aug. 10
Haiti: Jan. 1
Panama: Nov. 28
Perú: July 28-29.
There is a festival in Washington, D.C. to observe these dates.
Puerto Rico:
Does not exist; although freed from Spain, the islands' colonial rule was replaced by commonwealth guardianship from the United States. It has never experienced true political autonomy.

October

Oct. 7-15
Fiestas del Pilar in Zaragoza, Spain, is the feast day of all Spain. The day of the Virgen del Pilar is Oct. 12, a national holiday of patriotism.Oct. 10Anniversary of the beginning of the Ten Years' War, which paved the way for Cuba's independence from Spain in 1898. Once the Spanish were forced out, the island was ceded to the United States following Spain's defeat in the Spanish-American War. Cuba would not become an independent republic until 1902.

Oct. 12
Día de la Raza, or Day of Our Race, or Columbus Day, is a holiday with complex and changing meanings. Its significance depends on the celebrant. Some Latinos see the dark side of Christopher Columbus' arrival to the Americas.

Indigenous peoples in Latin America (and North America as well) were devastated by Europeans' arrival and later, their violent quest for domination. Hispanics are split on their political feelings about the holiday. Latinos might observe the day as an acknowledgement of the day's tragic consequences, or as a celebration of their mixed European and indigenous heritage. "La Raza" refers to that mixed race. Exactly when U.S. Hispanics embraced the holiday isn't clear. The Chicano civil rights movement of the '60s and '70s helped popularize it; activists encouraged Latinos to get in touch with their indigenous roots. One of the most dramatic celebrations was in 1996 when 100,000 Latinos marched through Washington to counter the anti-immigrant backlash that had emerged in the southwest United States.

It was the largest group of Latinos to ever converge on the capital.

Oct. 17
Anniversary of Jean-Jacques Dessalines' death in 1806. Dessalines, a former slave, led Haiti to independence from the French and freed the slaves. Dessalines declared Haiti the world's first independent black republic in 1804.

Oct. 18
Señor de Los Milagros, or Our Lord of Miracles. Also called the holiday of the Purple Christ, Peruvian Americans celebrate this holiday in New York; Patterson, N.J. and other large Peruvian-American communities with masses, street processions and outdoor food festivals. It stems from the 1700s when a huge earthquake destroyed Lima, Perœ, but a painting of the Purple Christ was not affected.

November

Nov. 2
El Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Also called All Souls' Day, this holiday has become increasingly popular in the United States. Traditionally, it is a day to celebrate and honor one's ancestors. It's based on the belief that there is interaction between the living world and the world of spirits. On the Día de los Muertos, the almas, or the spirits of the dead, are said to come back for family reunions. Mexicans, Central Americans and others, including non-Hispanic Americans, celebrate in ways that vary from setting up altars in their homes for family members who have died to attending a family dinner in honor of one's ancestors. Others may visit their loved one's cemetery plot and decorate it with flowers, candles and food. As Mexican and Latin American culture assimilates into U.S. culture, more institutions such as museums, schools and churches host celebrations Nov. 9Belize's Garifuna Settlement Day, celebrated by black Caribbeans. In Los Angeles, the Garifuna Street Festival is held in April

Nov. 19
The feast of Nuestra Señora de la Divina Providencia, or Our Lady of Divine Providence, Puerto Rico's patron virgin.

The story behind the virgin journeys through the ages. In 13th-Century Italy, seven formerly wealthy merchants who had vowed poverty and service to Christ prayed to be fed, and two baskets of food appeared at their door. They attributed the miracle to the Virgin of Divine Providence.

Devotion to the virgin spread to Spain and Puerto Rico through a Spanish bishop. Later, in order to solidify the virgin-Puerto Rican bond, the Catholic Church changed the island's observance of her feast day to Nov. 19, the day Puerto Ricans celebrated the island's discovery. The church succeeded: The virgin became the island's principal religious icon. In New York, a statue of the virgin is on permanent display at the church of Saint Barbara in Brooklyn.

Nov. 20
The Mexican anniversary of the Revolution of 1910 against dictator Porfirio Díaz ranks among the most important Mexican holidays. As a result of the revolution, 1 million Mexicans died at a time when Mexico had a population of 15 million. Another million Mexicans fled the chaos and emigrated to the United States.

December

Dec. 7-8
La Purísima, Nicaragua's celebration honoring the Immaculate Conception of Jesus. An altar is built in each home and guests are invited to come to worship. Nicaraguan towns and cities have celebrations called Toro Guaco to honor their patron saints, often carrying statues in a procession through the streets. Sometimes giant puppets called Las Gigantonas take part in the processions.

Dec. 12
Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe, or the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. For Latinos, Guadalupe is a symbol of the marriage of European and Indian blood and beliefs. Over time she has also come to symbolize cultural affirmation, political unity, and freedom from oppression, particularly for Mexican Americans. César Chávez and others involved in the Chicano civil rights movement of the 1960s and '70s often carried flags and signs of the icon.

The virgin, or Jesus' blessed mother, Mary, first appeared as an apparition in 1531 to an Mexican Indian named Juan Diego in Tepeyac, outside Mexico City. After appearing to Diego, her image later miraculously manifested itself on his cloak. Her dress was European, but her facial features were mestiza - a combination of the European madonna and a native goddess. In Diego's native language of Náhuatl, Mary spoke of universal love and compassion. She appeared just 10 years after the devastating defeat of the Aztec Empire by the Spaniards in 1521. Her coming was seen as a resurrection or the birth of a new mestizo people. In Latin-American Catholicism, she is both the feminine face and heart of God.

Today millions of people make pilgrimages to the Basílica of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac to see Diego's cloak.

Scientific investigations have attested to the authenticity and unexplainable nature of the cloak's painting. Miracles continue to be attributed to the virgin.

Our Lady of Guadalupe has been named the patron saint of the North Americas by the Catholic Church. Some countries also have their own specific patron, such as the Puerto Rican Virgin, or Saint Rose of Lima for Perœ, and some Latinos may only pray to their country-specific patron or virgin rather than Guadalupe. All of the virgins are apparitions of the virgin Mary.

Dec. 16-24
Las Posadas for Mexicans, Guatemalans and others. Las Posadas is a celebration that commemorates the biblical journey of Mary and Joseph on their nightly search for a place to stay.

Family and friends visit one another in their homes and enjoy conversation and traditional foods, and visitors sing carols. Observance in the United States varies greatly because of peoples' work schedules and assimilation.

Colombian Americans celebrate a similar holiday called Las Novenas, during which families pray and sing carols.

Dec. 24 and 25
La Nochebuena y La Navidad, Christmas Eve and Christmas.

U.S. Latinos celebrate the Christian holiday often by mixing U.S. and old-country traditions. Many Latino Catholics, like other Catholics, attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

Preparing traditional foods is also an integral part of the holiday, both as a way to enjoy one another and because the foods' preparation is so time-consuming, often taking days.

Peruvians celebrate with hot chocolate and panettone, an Italian sweetbread.

Mexican Americans get together at a family member's house for a tamalada, or a tamal-making session. A tamal is usually made of shredded pork and corn meal called masa, and tucked into a corn shuck or leaf. Tamales date back to the Aztecs in the 13th Century. Puerto Ricans prepare pasteles puertorriqueños, which are encased in plantain leaves and stuffed with black beans, pork, raisins and other ingredients. Cuban-American households often feature lechón asado, a roasted pork dish. In some parts of Miami and Cuba, the preparation starts by digging an outdoor pœa or pit, to roast the pig in guava leaves and juices such as orange. In Communist Cuba, Christmas was celebrated for the first time in 1997. In New Mexico, farolitos - outdoor Christmas laterns with candles in paper bags - are lit.

They are called luminarias or luminaries elsewhere in the United States.

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