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In Spain, today we celebrate Father’s Day. It’s a special day where we (1) honor all the dads. Although it’s a very special day, it’s not a (2) legal holiday in all the (3) regions of Spain. But in some regions, like mine, the Region of Valencia, it’s a legal holiday and we celebrate a lot. This year, however, it’s going to be a bit sad because of the lockdown due to (4) COVID-19, which means we can’t meet with our dads. Let’s find out a bit more about this day and how we celebrate it in Spain.
What else do we celebrate on Father’s Day?
In Spain, Father’s Day is a fixed date. This means that we celebrate it every year on March 19, no matter what day of the week it falls on. But we don’t only celebrate this.
In Valencia, we celebrate around this time the fallas and on Día de San José (Saint Joseph’s Day), i.e. today, we burn the fallas. It’s the most important day. However, this year we couldn’t celebrate them due to the coronavirus.
As I just mentioned, today is also Día de San José (Saint Joseph’s Day). But who was San José? San José was the father of Jesus and, because of that, he holds a prominent position in the Sanctorale (Calendar of Saints) and there’s a day to honor him. That’s also the reason why we celebrate the (5) saint’s day (or name day) of all the persons that are called José (Joseph). So, on March 19 there’s lots of congratulating fathers as well as everyone that’s called José.
How do we celebrate this day?
Usually, we celebrate Father’s Day with our families like pretty much on all festivities. Families get together for lunch and dads as well as grandfathers receive small presents. It’s common for schoolchildren to prepare some (6) handicraft to gift to their dads or maybe their grandfathers. But if you’re in Valencia there will be celebrations in the streets and you’ll be able to witness the cremà (burning) of the fallas.
VOcabulary
- to honor so.: homenajear; realizar un acto/celebración/fiesta para una persona.
- legal holiday: festivo; día de celebración, no se trabaja.
- region: comunidad; territorio que forma parte de un Estado (p. ej. en España) y que tiene un gobierno propio.
- COVID-19: enfermedad infecciosa causada por un virus del tipo “coronavirus”.
- saint: santo; en la religión Católica es una persona que por sus acciones es venerada.
- handicraft: manualidad; trabajos realizados con las manos (pinturas, papel, etc.) generalmente por los niños.
Credits:
Featured image: dl Spanish lessons
Picture 1: Photo by Kelli McClintock on Unsplash
Picture 2: Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash
References:
“Día del Padre”, Wikipedia