No matter what time of year you’re in, there’s always some holiday coming up and some good wishes to be made.
If you’ve just started studying Italian, this could be an opportunity to learn a few more expressions.
For example: do you know how to say Happy Easter in Italian?
The Italian words for Happy Easter
Easter is called Pasqua in Italy.
Knowing this, many new learners often translate “Happy Easter” to Italian with Felice Pasqua, but this is not 100% correct.
I mean, everyone will get it if you wish a felice Pasqua to your Italian friends, but this is not how a native speaker would say it. The reason lies in a little cultural difference that it’s good to know.
English speakers wish each other happiness. Italians, on the other hand, wish for things to be good. So, if you want to say Happy Easter in Italian, the right translation is: “Buona Pasqua!
Italians usually extend that wish to the other person’s relatives, turning it into:
“Buona Pasqua a te e famiglia”
“Happy Easter to you and your family”
And, if there’s a chance they don’t meet again before Sunday, they say:
“Se non ci vediamo prima, Buona Pasqua a te e famiglia!”
“If we don’t meet again before, (I wish a) Happy Easter to you and your family!”
How do Italians celebrate Easter?
Easter is still a very important holiday in Italy. When the time comes, schools close from Maundy Thursday to the next Tuesday, in what is called the ponte di Pasqua (the Italian Easter Break).
The first days are usually spent making the pulizie pasquali (spring cleaning) and, if you’re a Catholic, attending the religious celebrations that anticipate Easter.
Then, on Sunday, people usually gather with their families and spend quality time together. It is very common to have lunch together and eat a Colomba di Pasqua for dessert.
Finally, Holy Monday is generally spent catching up with friends and having a barbecue or a picnic, maybe after a trip to the country.
Don’t forget to wish your Italian friends a Happy Easter
In short, the Easter Break is a very important holiday and can be used to catch up with people you haven’t seen in a long time.
Make sure to wish your Italian friends a good one!
See you soon 🙂
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