Celebrate Thanksgiving in Spanish

Prepare to speak Spanish on Thanksgiving by learning these words. Many of these words dont have much of a cultural context outside the U.S. and Canada, which celebrates its Thanksgiving in October, as no Spanish-speaking countries have a version of Thanksgiving. The phrase  for Thanksgiving, by the way, is Dà ­a de Accià ³n de Gracias. Thats a mouthful that could be translated literally as the day of the act of thanks. The French form is similar—the Canadian Thanksgiving is known as lAction de Grà ¢ce. Holiday-Related Words agradecido (por)—thankful (for)ciberlunes—Cyber Mondayla colonia—colonycompartir, repartir—to shareel cuerno de la abundancia, la cornucopia—cornucopiael desfile—paradeDios—Godla familia—familyla festividad de la cosecha—harvest festivalel fà ºtbol americano—football (not soccer)gluglà º gluglà ºÃ¢â‚¬â€gobble gobble (turkey sound)las gracias—thanksel indio, la india, el indà ­gena americano, la indà ­gena americana—American Indian, native Americanel noviembre —Novemberel otoà ±o—autumn, falllos parientes—relativesel peregrino—pilgrimel viernes negro, el viernes de descuentos—Black Friday Food-Related Words Keep in mind that names of foods dont necessarily translate well, or might not be understood in Spanish-speaking countries, due to cultural differences. For example, the various words that can be translated as pie include pastel, tarta, empanada, and even pay (pronounced similarly to the English word). All of those words except the last also refer to other types of desserts.Also, it is common with fruits and vegetables for a popular name to be applied to multiple botanical classifications. For example, there are at least eight species of tuberous plants called  Ãƒ ±ames (yams), and a few are unlike what you might find in the U.S.   el arà ¡ndano rojo—cranberryel banquete—feastel budà ­n, el pudà ­n—puddingla cazuela—casserolela cena—dinnercomer—to eatla cucurbità ¡cea,  la calabaza —squash (the same Spanish terms also are used for other related plants)el maà ­z—cornla mazorca de maà ­z—corn on the cobel à ±ame, la batata, el boniato—yamel panecillo—dinner rollel pastel (o la tarta) de calabaza—pumpkin pieel pavo—turkeyel pavo asado—roast turkeyel purà © de patatas—mashed potatoesel relleno—stuffing, turkey dressingla salsa para carne—gravylas sobras, los restos—leftoverslas verduras—vegetables Vocabulary Notes Ñame, the word for yam is one of the few Spanish words to start with  Ãƒ ±. Among the more common ones are à ±oà ±o (insipid or dull) and words derived from it, à ±ora (red pepper), and à ±u (gnu). Panecillo shows how diminutive suffixes are used. Pan is the word for bread, so even if you didnt know what panecillo means, you might guess that it is a small type of bread. In Spanish, it is sometimes possible to distinguish between  male and female animals by using the masculine and feminine forms of the word. Thus a female turkey is una pava. Some other animal names follow a similar pattern: Una mona is a female monkey, una polla is a young hen (and also an off-color word with a different meaning), and una puerca is a sow. But dont assume that any feminine animal name refers to the feminine of the species. For example, una jirafa is a giraffe regardless of its sex. While  relleno would normally be used to refer to turkey stuffing, the same word can be used for just about any type of food filling. A stuffed chili, for example, is known as a chile relleno. While verduras is the word to use when talking about vegetables as a food, vegetales is used more often when talking about vegetables as a type of plant. Sample Sentences Los indios de la tribu de los Wampanoag enseà ±aron a los peregrinos cà ³mo sembrar maà ­z. (The Indians of the Wampanoag tribe taught the pilgrims how to plant corn.) Generalmente el Dà ­a de Accià ³n de Gracia coincide con el à ºltimo jueves de noviembre, pero algunas veces es el antepenà ºltimo. (Generally Thanksgiving is on the last Thursday of November, but sometimes it is on the next-to-last Thursday.) El Dà ­a de Accià ³n de Gracias se celebra el segundo lunes de octubre en Canadà ¡. (Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada.) No es difà ­cil prepara un pavo exquisito para celebrar el dà ­a con tus amigos y familiares. (It isnt difficult to prepare a delicious turkey for celebrating the day with your friends and family members.) El tradicional desfile de Macy’s que se realiza en Nueva York. (The traditional Macys parade takes place in New York.) Despuà ©s de la cena, vamos a ver un juego de fà ºtbol americano. (After dinner, well watch a football game.) Tenemos mucha gratitud por todo lo que tenemos. (Were grateful for everything we have.) Key Takeaways No Spanish-speaking country has a version of Thanksgiving, so native Spanish speakers in those countries may have little cultural context when dealing with Thanksgiving-related words.When translating holiday-related words to Spanish, keep in mind that there may be only a partial correlation between meanings. For example, while a gravy is salsa in Spanish, salsa can refer to many other types of sauce as well.The Spanish phrase for the holiday itself is a long one: Dà ­a de Accià ³n de Gracias.