Christmas
New Year’s Eve
On December 31st, many people celebrate the arrival of the New Year, while others focus on welcoming the first day of the upcoming year. Interestingly, some refer to these celebrations as the “last night of the old year.” In certain languages, the term “end of year” is also used to describe this occasion.
In many European languages, this day marks the commemoration of Pope Sylvester I’s death. As a result, it is often called “Saint Sylvester’s Night” or simply “Sylvester.”
Easter
Pre-Christian
Despite being a distinctly Christian celebration, the names for Easter and Ostern (in German) trace their roots to the Proto-Germanic word Austrǭ. This term referred to a West Germanic spring goddess and the festival held during the spring equinox in her honor. Over time, the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection coincided with and replaced these earlier spring festivals, while the original name persisted in both English and German.
Passover
The French term Pâques, derived from Latin Pascha and Greek Πάσχα (Pascha), was borrowed from the Aramaic פסחא (Paskha), which is cognate with the Hebrew פֶּסַח (Pesach). This term, arguably the most widespread for Easter, underwent a significant transformation. It originally referred to the Jewish festival of Passover, which commemorates the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. Later, Paul the Apostle, writing to the Christians in Corinth from Ephesus, reinterpreted the term to refer to Christ, highlighting the connection between Jesus’ resurrection and the themes of liberation and salvation that are central to Passover.
A great time
In Czech, Velikonoce translates to “Great Nights,” while the Lithuanian word Velykos similarly means “Great Day(s)” or “Great Festival.” Both terms are influenced by the Ancient Greek expression μεγάλη ἡμέρα (megálē hēméra), which translates to “great day.”
Halloween
Halloween is often tagged as an American celebration that has spread globally. However, it has a Celtic origin. The ancient name is Samhain, which is still preserved in Irish “Oíche Shamhna”, Scottish Gaelic “Oidhche Shamhna” and Galician “Samaín”. On the other hand, the English name “Halloween” is a Scottish shortening of Allhalloweven, from Allhallowmas (in other words All Saints’ Day).
Most languages use the English name “Halloween”. It is importat to notice that in languages, that do not use Latin script, the English name was adapted: Bulgarian & Serbian Хелоуин (Helouin), Russian Хэллоуин (Khéllovin), or Greek Χαλλοουίν (Challooín).
In some languages, the English name Halloween is new, but there are also some traditional names, which are basically the translation of “All Saint’s Day”: In Spanish “Vispera de todos los Santos” or in Italian “Vigilia di Ognissanti”.
In other languages the name is connected to “Witches”: like Spanish “Noche de Brujas”, Turkish “Cadılar Bayramı” or Sloven “Noč čarovnic”.
Unlucky day
Which date is believed to be the unlucky day? In most languages, it is obviously Friday the 13th. However, in Romanian, Greek, Spanish, and other Iberian languages instead of Friday is Tuesday the 13th. In Italian 13th is not that bad, 17th is worse. They say “Venerdi 17” Friday the 13th. As for Albanians, every Friday is bad.
