Latin American celebrations to add to your marketing calendar.
13 Latin American Celebrations…and counting.
Latin American holidays are a vibrant and diverse array of celebrations that reflect the rich cultural heritage of Latin America and its diaspora. This list includes some of the most notable Latino holidays, but it’s important to note that different countries and communities may celebrate these holidays with varying customs and traditions.
Below is the succinct list and below it, we get into the details:
- Día de los Muertos – November 1st and 2nd
- Día de los Reyes Magos – January 6th
- Carnaval – Starts on the Friday before Ash Wednesday
- Cinco de Mayo – May 5th
- Noche de San Juan – June 23rd
- Inti Raymi – June 24th
- Día de la Independencia – September 15th for most of Central America
- Navidad – December 24th (this is a fact)
- Año Nuevo – December 31st
- Día de la Raza – October 12th
- Semana Santa – Starts on the week leading up to Easter
- La Fiesta de la Virgen de Guadalupe – December 12th
- Día Nacional de la Pachamama – August 1st
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead): Celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, this holiday honors deceased loved ones with altars, offerings, and gatherings at cemeteries. It’s widely celebrated in Mexico but also observed in other Latin American countries.
Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings’ Day): January 6th marks the celebration of the Three Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus. It is a significant holiday in many Latin American countries and often involves parades, gift-giving, and special foods like Rosca de Reyes.
Carnaval (Carnival): This pre-Lenten festival is celebrated with colorful parades, music, dance, and elaborate costumes. Brazil’s Carnival is world-famous, but many other Latin American countries, such as Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay, also have their own unique celebrations.
Cinco de Mayo: Though more widely celebrated in the United States, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1862. It’s a day of Mexican pride and heritage.
Noche de San Juan (St. John’s Eve): Celebrated on June 23rd, the eve of St. John the Baptist’s feast day, this holiday includes bonfires, dancing, and rituals believed to bring good luck and purify the soul.
Inti Raymi: Held on June 24th in Peru, Inti Raymi is an ancient Incan festival celebrating the winter solstice and the sun god, Inti. It includes colorful ceremonies and reenactments.
Día de la Independencia (Independence Day): Each Latin American country has its own Independence Day, commemorating its liberation from Spanish colonial rule. Dates vary, with some examples being September 15th (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua) and September 16th (Mexico).
Navidad (Christmas): Christmas in Latin America is a festive and religious holiday, often beginning with celebrations on December 16th, known as Las Posadas, and culminating on December 24th and 25th with feasting, music, and religious ceremonies.
Año Nuevo (New Year): New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are celebrated with various traditions, including wearing specific colors for good luck and engaging in rituals like eating 12 grapes at midnight.
Día de la Raza (Day of the Race): Celebrated on October 12th, this holiday commemorates the encounter of cultures following Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas.
Semana Santa (Holy Week): The week leading up to Easter is a significant religious observance with various events, processions, and activities across Latin America.
La Fiesta de la Virgen de Guadalupe: Celebrated on December 12th, this religious holiday is one of the most important in Mexico and honors the Virgin Mary, specifically her appearance to the indigenous peasant Juan Diego in 1531, who wasn’t canonized until July 31, 2002, by Pope John Paul II.
Día Nacional de la Pachamama: Celebrated on August 1st in Argentina and other Andean countries, this holiday pays homage to Pachamama, the goddess of Mother Earth, with offerings and rituals.
There are many more holidays, religious, non-official, and specific to even regions of certain countries in Latin America.
Use this list as a starting point to learn more about the origins of their celebrations and how your brand can add value to their festivities and sense of community, but not just for the sake of selling to them.
Tell us in the comments which ones you’d like to see added to the growing list.
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