
Easter in Arabic is “3īd lfiSH / عيد الفِصْح“. To wish someone a Happy Easter, you can use one of the following greetings:
Glorious Easter | 3īd fiSH majīd | عيد فِصْح مَجيد |
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Happy Easter | 3īd fiSH sa3īd | عيد فِصْح سَعيد |
A traditional exchange of greetings between Christians on Easter runs as follows:
Christ is risen! | ĀalmaSiH qām! | المَسيح قام! |
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He is risen indeed | Haqqan qām | حَقّاً قام |
Of course, it is also appropriate to use general holiday greetings which are suitable for any festive occasion.
The words for Easter and Passover (Pesach) are identical in Arabic. If there is some ambiguity, the two holidays may be distinguished by adding the relevant adjective “masīHiyy / مَسيحي” (“Christian”) or “yahūdiyy / يَهودي” (“Jewish”); these are pronounced “masīHé” and “yahūdé” in colloquial Lebanese, i.e. “3īd fiSH masīHé / عيد فِصْح مَسيحي“ or “3īd fiSH yahūdé / عيد فِصْح يَهودي“.
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ma3mūl bjōz / معمول بجوز: pastry filled with walnuts |
ma3mūl btamir / معمول بتمر: pastry filled with dates |
ma3mūl bfistuĀ Halabé / معمول بفستق حلبي: pastry filled with pistachios |
The following table contains additional terminology related to the period leading up to Easter. An asterisk (*) indicates colloquial Lebanese pronunciation only; otherwise, the pronunciation is Modern Standard Arabic.
Lent (“The Great Fast”) | ĀaSSawm lkabīr | الصَّوْم الكَبير | |
Palm Sunday | ĀaHad šša3ānīn | أَحَد الشَّعانين |
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*3īd šša3nīneŧ | *عيد الشَّعنينة |
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*ša3nīneŧ | *شَعْنينة | ||
Blessed Palm Sunday | *ša3nīneŧ mubārakeŧ | *شَعْنينة مُبارَكِة | |
Holy Thursday | ĀalЌamīs lmuqaddas | الخَميس المُقَدَّس | |
Thursday of Mysteries | Ќamīs lĀasrār | خَميس الأَسْرار | |
The Last Supper | Āal3ašāĀ lĀaЌīr | العَشاء الأَخير | |
Good Friday (“Sad Friday”) | Āaljum3aŧ lHazīnaŧ | الجُمْعَة الحَزينَة | |
*jjum3aŧ lHazīneŧ | *الجُّمْعَة الحَزينِة | ||
Good Friday (“Great Friday”) | Āaljum3aŧ l3aẒīmaŧ | الجُمْعَة العَظيمَة | |
*jjum3aŧ l3aZīmeŧ | *الجُّمْعَة العَظيمِة |
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Holy Saturday (“Saturday of Light”) | sabt nnūr | سَبْت النّور | |
The Day of Resurrection (Easter) | 3īd lqiyāmaŧ | عيد القِيامَة | |
*3īd liĀyāmeŧ | *عيد الِقْيامِة | ||
For Middle Eastern Christians, Easter is a more important holiday than Christmas. The following video, from 2009, shows scenes from various Holy Week and Easter processions in the old city of Damascus:
Video: Easter in Damascus, Syria from Pim Van den Berg on YouTube.
Related
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in Arabic
Holiday Greetings
Thanks it was a good information! Happy Easter! Tely
Glad you found it useful. Happy Easter!
As a first generation American Lebanese, it is nice to hear the phrases we learned while growing up, so we can pass it on to our children and grandchildren to.