Happy Easter - Omniglot style

Hands down, the traditions of 'Semana Santa" are the ones that have always warmed my heart the most ever since I was a little girl. My first memories of attending Church and Holy week services were at Corpus Cristi Catholic Church in Miami. 

 

I came to the states with my family, like many, from Cuba when I was six months old; I take every opportunity to claim that I was one of the original Cuban political refugees to make the United States home. These were the 60's and my people and I were on a mission - the Cuban exodus. 

 

Nevertheless, as part of the flight to freedom, my family and I planted our migratory hopes and dreams into a duplex in 'la 35'. My abuela Mercedez coined that term; may she rest in peace.  We lived in walking distance from our place of worship.  I embrace a clear memory from age four attending mass in the back of the church in a special section designated to noisy infants and unruly children.  A giant glass window divorced us from all of the well behaved parishioners in the front.  I didn't take it personally then and I still don't.  I submit, this might be the reason that I have always groveled for front row seats any time and anywhere.

 

I didn't know it then, but we didn't have much money and the adults were struggling at every turn, but we still managed to exercise all the good 'Pascua' family traditions (entre o altar e a mesa) ranging from religious services to comida Americana and Cubana.  Today, we add some  culinaria Portuguesa to our pot luck.

 

Like Thanksgiving, I love Easter because of the good old fashioned family time shared and the many strolls through memory lane that get served at the table along with the fixings. And if my cousin Ileana or Lourdes read this, remember to sit down to the 'Ten Commandments' like we used to.  I no longer need to wait for it to show up on television - I have my very own copy.
 

And that is the celebratory disclaimer part of this narrative.  All kidding aside, Easter is the reason for this season, as they say.

However, before we arrive anywhere near the glorious Easter Sunday feast, we  first enter into darkness in shadows to the sound of chanting, readings and psalms of the Tenebrae ( Holy Wednesday); we  visit "Maundy or Holy Thursday," as we prepare to walk the path to the Place of the Skull.  We then reach apex  when Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.

 Luke 23:46
 ...Now, we wait!
 

 

What comes next is the better part of the journey.  Out from the tomb arrives redemption, earthly renewal and a triumphant new beginning and that is just for starters -   The Greatest Story Ever Told. 

 

As for me, I love all of the services leading up to the Easter Vigil at my parish Immaculate Conception Church in Hialeah. What a shock?!  I anxiously await to begin the walk first in darkness and later with an explosive roar to a  great reveal of voices singing Gloria in Excelsis Deo! Its all gravy after that; party time!

This is hyperbolic at best, but I didn't want to leave anyone out - Wishing everyone a Happy Easter a-la-omniglot! 

Language	Happy Easter
Afrikaans	Geseënde Paasfees
Albanian	Gëzuar Pashkët
Amharic	መልካም ፋሲካ (me’elkam fasika)
Arabic (Lebanese)	El Maseeh Qam (Christ has risen) Haqan Qam (Truly he has risen - rsp)
Aromanian	Hristolu s-aflà! (Christ has risen!) Dealihea cà s-afla! (He has risen indeed! - rsp)
Assyrian	Ghyamta d'maran hoya brikhta
Basque	Ondo izan Bazko garaian
Bengali	ঈস্টর এর শুভেচ্ছা নেবেন। (easter er shubhechha neben)
Bhojpuri	शुभ ईस्टर (subh iistar)
Bikol	Maogmang Pagkabuhay na Liwat ni Kristo
Breton	Pask Seder
Bulgarian	Христос Воскресе (Hristos Voskrese) Christ has risen Воистина Воскресе (Voistina Voskrese) Truly, he has risen - reply Честит Великден (Čestit Velikden)
Catalan	Bona Pasqua
Chamorro	Felis Påsgua
Chinese (Cantonese)	復活節快樂 (fuhkwuhtjit faailohk)
Chinese (Mandarin)	復活節快樂[复活节快乐] (fùhuójié kuàilè)
Chinese (Taiwanese)	復活節快樂 (ho̍k-o̍ah-chat khòai-lo̍k)
Cornish	Pask Lowen
Corsican	Bona Pasqua
Croatian	Sretan Uskrs
Czech	Veselé Velikonoce
Danish	God påske
Dutch	Vrolijk Pasen, Zalige paasdagen, Zalig Pasen
Esperanto	Feliĉan Paskon
Estonian	Häid lihavõttepühi
Faroese	Gleðilig páskir
Fijian	Vanuinui vinaka ni Siga ni Mate
Finnish	Hyvää Pääsiäistä / Iloista pääsiäistä
French	Joyeuses Pâques
Frisian (North)	Fröiliken poosche
Friulian	Buine Pasche
Galician	Boas Pascuas
German	Frohe Ostern
Greek (Modern)	Καλό πάσχα (Kaló pásha) Χριστός ανέστη! (Hristós anésti) - Christ has Risen Αληθώς ανέστη! (Alithós anésti) - Truly he has Risen (reply)
Haitian Creole	Bònn fèt pak
Hawaiian	Hau ʻoli Pakoa, E ʻōlelo mālie Hau'oli Ka La i Ala Hou ai Ka Haku
Hebrew	(chag pascha same'ach) חג פסחא שמח
Hindi	शुभ ईस्टर (śubh īsṭar)
Hungarian	Kellemes Húsvéti Ünnepeket! (Pleasant Easter Holidays!) Áldott Húsvétot kívánok! (Wishing You a Blessed Easter!)
Icelandic	Gleðilega páska
Indonesian	Selamat Paskah
Irish (Gaelic)	Cáisc Shona Dhuit/Dhaoibh, Beannachtaí na Cásca
Italian	Buona Pasqua
Japanese	復活祭おめでとうございます (fukkatsu-sai omedetō gozaimasu) イースターおめでとうございます (īsutā omedetō gozaimasu)
Jèrriais	Jouaiyeux Pâques
Kannada	ಈಸ್ಟರ್ ಹಬ್ಬದ ಶುಭಾಷಯಗಳು(īsṭar habbada shubhaashayagalu)
Kinyarwanda	Pasika Nziza
Korean	행복한 부활절이 되시길(haengpoghan puhwarcheori toesikir)
Latin	Prospera Pascha sit
Latvian	Priecīgas Lieldienas
Lithuanian	Su šventom velykom! Sveiki sulaukę šventų velykų!
Luxembourgish	Schéin Ouschteren
Macedonian	Среќен Велигден(Sreken Veligden) Христос воскресе(Hristos voskrese) Christ has risen Навистина воскресе (Navistina voskrese) Truly, he has risen - rsp
Malayalam	ഈസ്റ്റര്‍ ആശംസകള്‍! (iistar ashamsakal!)
Maltese	L-Għid it-tajjeb
Manx (Gaelic)	Caisht sonney dhyt
Māori	Ngā mihi o te Aranga
Marathi	शुभ ईस्टर (śubh īsṭar)
Norwegian	God påske
Occitan	Bonas Pascas
Papiamento	Bon pasco
Pashto	ښه او خوشحال اختر (kha aw khushal akhtar)
Persian (Farsi)	(eide pak mobārak) عيد پاک مبارک
Polish	Wesołych Świąt Wielkanocnych! Wesołego Alleluja! Szczęśliwej Wielkanocy! Wesołych Świąt Wielkiej Nocy!
Portuguese	Boa Páscoa, Páscoa Feliz, Feliz Páscoa
Punjabi	ਈਸਟਰ ਖੁਸ਼ਿਯਾੰਵਾਲਾ ਹੋਵੇ (īsṭar khuśyāṅvālā hove)
Romanian	Paşte Fericit Hristos a inviat! (Christ has risen!) Adevarat ca a inviat! (Truly, he has risen - rsp)
Russian	Христос воскрес(Xristos voskres) Christ resurrected Воистину воскрес(Voistinu voskres) - reply - truly resurrected
Samoan	Ia manuia le Eseta
Sardinian (Logudorese)	Bona pasca
Scottish Gaelic	A' Chàisg sona
Serbian	Христос васкрсе(Hristos vaskrse) - Christ resurrected Ваистину васкрсе(Vaistina vaskrse) - truly resurrected (reply)
Sicilian	Bona Pasqua
Sinhala	සුභ පාස්කුවක් (subha paskuwak)
Slovak	Veselé prežitie Veľkonočných sviatkov
Slovenian	Vesele velikonočne praznike
Somali	Easter wanaagsan
Spanish	¡Felices Pascuas!
Swahili	Heri kwa sikukuu ya Pasaka
Swedish	Glad Påsk
Swiss German	Schöni Oschtere
Tagalog	Maligayang pasko ng pagkabuhay
Tamil	ஈஸ்ட்டர் நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் (Easter nal vaazthukkal)
Telugu	శుభ ఈస్ఠర్ (shubha eestar)
Tetum	Feliz Paskua
Thai	สุขสันต์วันอีสเตอร์(sùk săn wan èet-dtêr)
Tibetan	ཡི་ཤུ་བསྐྱར་གསོའི་དུས་ཆེན་ལ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས་ཞུ།
Tigrinya	ርሑስ በዓል ፋሲካ። (Rhus Be’al Fasika)
Tok Pisin	Hepi ista
Tongan	Ma'u ha 'aho Pekia fiefia.
Tsotsil	Lek me ech'an ti ta k'uxul orae
Tswana	Malatsi a paseka aa itumedisang
Turkish	Paskalya yortunuz kutlu olsun (Note: most Turkish people are Muslims and do not celebrate Easter)
Ukrainian	Христос Воскрес! (Khrystos Voskres!) = Christ is Risen! Воїстину Воскрес! (Voyistynu Voskres!) = Truly He is Risen! - reply З Великодніми святами(Z Velykodnimy sviatamy)
Urdu	(eid mubarak) عید مبارک
Venetian	Bona Pasqua
Vietnamese	Chúc Mừng Phục Sinh
Volapük	Lesustanazäli yofik
Võro	Hüvvi munnõpühhi
Welsh	Pasg Hapus
Yorùbá	Ẹ ku Ayọ Ajinde
Zulu	IPhasika elijabulayo / IPhasika elithokozayo

 

Enjoy the Walk! The Walk to Emmaus! The Walk on Water! The 40 day Walk! And, Keep on Walking!