# Non so se abbiate delle vacanze di Pasqua negli Stati Uniti



## Salbina

Ciao a tutti,

vorrei augurare buona Pasqua ad un cittadino statunitense (un collaboratore di lavoro, non decisamente un amico) e non so se la frase che mi appresto a scrivergli è appropriata: le dareste un'occhiata? 

"I do not know if you have any Easter holidays in the US, if so, I wish you a happy one". 

Come suona quell'"happy one"? Secondo me malissimo, ma non voglio ripetere altre volte "Easter"...

Grazie (e buona Pasqua ),  Salbina


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## Paulfromitaly

Cosa gli vorresti dire in italiano?


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## Salbina

"Non so se abbiate delle vacanze di Pasqua negli Stati Uniti, nel caso ti auguro buona Pasqua"...e nomino Pasqua anche nella frase precedente, ecco perché tento di sviare con l'"happy one".


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## Austinese

Easter is a holiday in the U.S., so just "Happy Easter" is fine -- a meno che il tuo collega non e' cristiano.


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## underhouse

My take:

_I don't know if you have any Easter holidays in the United States. If that is the case, I wish you a happy Easter._


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## effeundici

Austinese said:


> Easter is a holiday in the U.S., so just "Happy Easter" is fine -- a meno che il tuo collega non e' cristiano.


 
I think she is wondering wheter you have some days off *around *Easter or not. Of course you have Easter in the USA; but it's Sunday!!

You know, you are known to be workhaolic; so we are sure about your *Holy Days* but not about your *holidays*!!

P.S. By the way; unfortunately the sentence _a meno che *non *sia Cristiano _means _unless he is Christian. _If you take away the *non *the meaning does not change.

You should say something like _a meno che non sia di religione non Cristiana _


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## Salbina

You know, Austinese, I think I'll go for a nice and easy "happy Easter", senza troppi preamboli!  But anyway, just out of curiosity, do you think that my original sentence sounds confused?

Effeundici, you're right! That's what I was wondering! 

And also if I was about to write something to be ashamed of for the rest of my life...

Ciao, Salbina


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## Austinese

effeundici said:


> I think she is wondering wheter you have some days off *around *Easter or not. Of course you have Easter in the USA; but it's Sunday!!
> 
> You know, you are known to be workhaolic; so we are sure about your *Holy Days* but not about your *holidays*!!
> 
> P.S. By the way; unfortunately the sentence _a meno che *non *sia Cristiano _means _unless he is Christian. _If you take away the *non *the meaning does not change.
> 
> You should say something like _a meno che non sia di religione non Cristiana _



effeundici:

I was thinking that the holiday greeting is independent of whether or not days are taken off around the time of the holiday.   We would say "Happy Hanukah" to a Jewish individual, and, in my experience, there aren't days off from work sanctioned for Hanukah, as is the case for Thanksgiving

I think that the point is that Easter is not a secular holiday. So you need to be sensitive about the religion of the person you're talking to and how religious the person is.   I wouldn't say "Happy Easter" to a non-Christian or an individual who is an atheist.


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## brian

You could say:

_I don't know if you_ (= "tu") _celebrate Easter, but if so, (may you have a) Happy Easter!
I don't know if you _(impersonale) _celebrate Easter in the United States,* but if so, ..._

*Certo che si festeggia la Pasqua negli US.


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## Austinese

brian8733 said:


> You could say:
> 
> _I don't know if you_ (= "tu") _celebrate Easter, but if so, (may you have a) Happy Easter!
> I don't know if you _(impersonale) _celebrate Easter in the United States,* but if so, ..._
> 
> *Certo che si festeggia la Pasqua negli US.



I think that the first sentence (the tu one) is fine, but the second sentence does not sound right to me.     Some people in the U.S. celebrate Easter whereas other do not -- the decision is made by the individual rather than collectively.


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## brian

You're right... partly...

If someone asked me, "Do you/people celebrate Easter in the US?" I would answer, "*Yes*, some/many people do" or "*Yes*, Christians do" or "*Yes*, but not everyone."

In other words, logically speaking it is an undeniable fact that Easter *IS* celebrated in the US--just not by everyone.


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## Austinese

brian8733 said:


> You're right... partly...
> 
> If someone asked me, "Do you/people celebrate Easter in the US?" I would answer, "*Yes*, some/many people do" or "*Yes*, Christians do" or "*Yes*, but not everyone."
> 
> In other words, logically speaking it is an undeniable fact that Easter *IS* celebrated in the US--just not by everyone.



But keeping in mind the context that all of this is based on, the second sentence is similar to asking:

"I don't know if June is when people take vacation in the U.S., but if this is the case, I hope you have a great vacation."    

The problem is not the first clause standing by itself, but rather erroneously linking a matter of individual choice to a collective norm. Some people vacation during June, some do not,  but whether or not you do so is entirely up to yourself.


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## You little ripper!

> Come suona quell'"happy one"? Secondo me malissimo, ma non voglio ripetere altre volte "Easter"...


*

**I don't know if you celebrate Easter in the United States, but if so, have a happy one! 

**I don't know if you celebrate Easter in the United States; if you do, have a happy one!*


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## You little ripper!

brian8733 said:


> You're right... partly...
> 
> If someone asked me, "Do you/people celebrate Easter in the US?" I would answer, "*Yes*, some/many people do" or "*Yes*, Christians do" or "*Yes*, but not everyone."
> 
> In other words, logically speaking it is an undeniable fact that Easter *IS* celebrated in the US--just not by everyone.


I agree (this is becoming a bad habit, Brian ). If I were asked whether Easter or Christmas was celebrated in Australia, I would say 'yes'. The country is predominantly a Christian one, so I am speaking for the majority. The fact that some don't is irrelevant in my opinion (and I happen to be one of that minority who doesn't).


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## MStraf

Austinese said:


> ...  but rather erroneously linking a matter of individual choice to a collective norm.  ...


True. But the original question was not about wishing "a nice holidays", but rather "Happy Easter", that in USA we do only when we know that the recipient is Christian (like for "Merry Christmas")

I agree with Brian, in the US we _do _celebrate Easter, but only the Christians do. So I would not say "_I wish you Happy Easter in case Easter is celebrated in (_...the name of a country here..._)_" but rather "_I wish you Happy Easter in case you (_personal -you_-) celebrate it_" (but I actually do not say anything)

Anyhow, enough of politically correctness  If someone says "Happy Easter" I just smile and say back "Thank you, but I do not celebrate it" and usually that settles it down and avoids any embarrassment.


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## effeundici

Ragazzi!! The problem is not about celebration or commemoration of the Easter in the USA. The question was about holidays before and after Easter.

In Italy the day after Easter is a national feast; then everybody takes advantage of the hopefully good weather for 2/3 days.

So a translation could be: _I don't know if you have any public holiday on the occasion of the Easter period. If yes, I wish you happy holidays!_


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## brian

That's what I was originally thinking too, but then the Italian doesn't say "buone vacanze"...it says "buona _Pasqua_."

In other words, it's kind of weird to say, "I don't know if you get any public holidays for Easter, but if you do, Happy Easter!" because you can wish someone a Happy Easter _regardless_ of whether or not they get vacation days for it.

Does that make sense?


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## You little ripper!

effeundici said:


> Ragazzi!! The problem is not about celebration or commemoration of the Easter in the USA. The question was about holidays before and after Easter.
> 
> In Italy the day after Easter is a national feast; then everybody takes advantage of the hopefully good weather for 2/3 days.
> 
> So a translation could be: _I don't know if you have any public holiday on the occasion of the Easter period. If yes, I wish you happy holidays!_


I can't speak for the States,  but in Australia a celebration like Easter, Christmas etc. comes automatically with a holiday; you don't have one without the other. So asking me if we celebrate Easter here is tantamount to asking me whether we have holidays  here at that time.


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## effeundici

Don't forget that Easter is always on Sunday!



Charles Costante said:


> I can't speak for the States, but in Australia a celebration like Easter, Christmas etc. comes automatically with a holiday; you don't have one without the other. So asking me if we celebrate Easter here is tantamount to asking me whether we have holidays here at that time.


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## brian

F11, you didn't answer my question.  Even if a person does not get holidays for Easter, you can still wish them a happy Easter (_buona Pasqua_).

So the Italian does not make much sense to me. What's going on?


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## You little ripper!

effeundici said:


> Don't forget that Easter is always on Sunday!


The Friday before and the Monday after are holidays here.


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## MStraf

brian8733 said:


> ... it's kind of weird to say, "I don't know if you get any public holidays for Easter, but if you do, Happy Easter!" because you can wish someone a Happy Easter _regardless_ of whether or not they get vacation days for it.


I totally agree.


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## effeundici

brian8733 said:


> That's what I was originally thinking too, but then the Italian doesn't say "buone vacanze"...it says "buona _Pasqua_."
> 
> In other words, it's kind of weird to say, "I don't know if you get any public holidays for Easter, but if you do, Happy Easter!" because you can wish someone a Happy Easter _regardless_ of whether or not they get vacation days for it.
> 
> Does that make sense?


 
Penso che la frase originale fosse: _Non so se avete vacanze di Pasqua, se si ti auguro buone vacanze di Pasqua_


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## brian

effeundici said:


> Penso che la frase originale fosse: _Non so se avete vacanze di Pasqua, se si ti auguro buone vacanze di Pasqua_


 
Cosi' avrebbe mooolto piu' senso.


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## Austinese

MStraf said:


> I totally agree.



I agree as well.

During Christmas time, we can avoid offending others by saying "Happy Holidays,"  as Christmas time is equated with a holiday period that the public can enjoy regardless of religion.   Most people have a few days off during this time,  so it's as if everyone partakes in the holiday season.   

Easter hasn't been secularized like Christmas so there isn't an equivalent expression for Easter that comes to mind.  The holiday has a different meaning here, one that is more specifically religious in nature than is the case in Italy.  For instance, we typically don't have any days off from work that bracket Easter Sunday.

I would reserve "Happy Easter" for use when you know the person's religiosity.  For example,  you could say "Happy Easter" to an individual who belongs to your church.     I don't think we expect to hear this greeting from people who don't know anything about the nature of our religious involvement.


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## Salbina

Ok, it's perfectly clear. 

Some of you noticed that the Italian doesn't make much sense, and they are perfectly right (I was writing in English, then translated into Italian with not much thinking...sorry ): you can wish someone a happy Easter even if they go to work on the very Easter Sunday...

As Easter is a specifically religious festivity, I was looking for some kind of formula which allowed me to say something nice to this coworker without too much detail... So, how about "I don't know if you have any days off for Easter, if so, have a happy holiday"? 

By the way, I'm pretty sure he's Christian and celebrates Easter...trouble is, I'm not religious and at Christmas time I always go for "Buone feste", so I was looking for something similar (also because in the e-mail I say that there will probably be some delayed shippings because of our Easter holidays).

Thank you a  lot everybody, interesting discussion, Salbina


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## You little ripper!

_*I don't know if you'll be having any days off at Easter, but if you do, enjoy the break*_ is one option. 

I know Americans say "Happy Holidays" at Christmas, but you may need to wait for someone from there to confirm whether they do the same at Easter.


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## london calling

Charles Costante said:


> I can't speak for the States, but in Australia a celebration like Easter, Christmas etc. comes automatically with a holiday; you don't have one without the other. So asking me if we celebrate Easter here is tantamount to asking me whether we have holidays here at that time.


Same in the UK! And, as you say, Good Friday is a holiday in the UK as well (not so in Italy: I phoned my mother yesterday and her reaction to this was: _What? A good Catholic country like Italy doesn't celebrate Good Friday? _ meaning "You don't get a day off for Good Friday?").

I'd say (as an alternative):

_I don't know if you celebrate Easter or not, but if you do, have a nice holiday._


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## bedofstars

I don't know if this is just me, but to me, as an American, the confusing part of these sentences is referring to the days off for/around Easter as "holiday." In the US (as I'm sure some of you know) we only use the word "holiday(s)" for the specific days of celebration (ex. Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, New Years, etc...), not for vacation time, breaks from work, or trips. 

So to me when I hear the sentence *"I don't know if you have any days off for Easter, if so, have a happy holiday"* I think the word holiday is specifically referring to the religious celebration of Easter and not any extra time off from work. I hope this makes sense  Basically, using the word holiday to refer to vacation time in a sentence that names a _specific_ holiday (ex. Easter) is quite confusing to me as an American! I would say:

*"I don't know if you have any days off for Easter, but if so, have a nice break"*or something like that.


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## bedofstars

Charles Costante said:


> _*I don't know if you'll be having any days off at Easter, but if you do, enjoy the break*_ is one option.
> 
> I know Americans say "Happy Holidays" at Christmas, but you may need to wait for someone from there to confirm whether they do the same at Easter.



Nope, "Happy Holidays" is just around Christmas/Hanukkah/New Years  I don't think there is an equivalent for Easter time. In my opinion people would only say "Happy Easter" to close family or friends that they know celebrate it and they happen to be speaking to on that day. However, I'm Jewish, so maybe a Christian American should answer! It's simply not _as_ commercialized as Christmas so even though you see lots of Easter things in stores, sales clerks won't say "Happy Easter" the way they will say "Happy Holidays" near Christmas.


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## london calling

bedofstars said:


> Nope, "Happy Holidays" is just around Christmas/Hanukkah/New Years  I don't think there is an equivalent for Easter time. In my opinion people would only say "Happy Easter" to close family or friends that they know celebrate it and they happen to be speaking to on that day.


We don't say "Happy Holidays" in the UK, but we do say "Happy Easter" and at school/university we have "Easter Holiday(s)", just as you have the Easter Break/Vacation in the States.


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## JoanTaber

Unless your friend is of a persuasion other than Christian: "Have a wonderful Easter holiday!"
(Christian, Jewish, free thinker, non-thinker--some of us get Good Friday off, some of us even get Easter Monday off; not all of us get Easter or Passover off.)


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## Salbina

After all, I decided for "I don't know if you have any days off but if so I wish you a nice break" as bedofstars suggested. (In passing, they don't have any break in South Carolina, but I think it depends on the workplace if they give you any).

Also, I knew about the AE use of "vacation" instead of "holiday", but I had no idea holiday conveyed a peculiar religious meaning (as the word suggests, indeed...), I learned a lot in this post!

Thank you everybody, now I start to wonder about Canada and Ireland...anyone from these countries?

Ciao, Salbina


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