(Italian Lesson) Do you use ‘celebrare’ or ‘festeggiare’?

What are the differences between the verbs 'celebrare' and 'festeggiare'?

I tried to tell my tutor that I was celebrating Halloween by using the verb ‘celebrare’, but she quickly corrected me to tell me that ‘festeggiare’ was the more suitable term to use.

So what’s the difference between ‘festeggiare’ and ‘celebrare’?

Festeggiare si usa con:

• Natale

• Pasqua

• Halloween

• Santa Rosa

• Ferragosto
  ​

Basically, you use it with major holidays or festivals.

D’altra parte, si usa ‘celebrare’ for more events like:

• Un matrimonio: il prete che celebra il matrimonio

• La Festa della Repubblica: il Presidente della Repubblica celebra la Festa della Repubblica

Then there are some that you can use both verbs like:

• ​​La festa della donna - International Women's Day

• La festa della mamma - Mother's Day

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Un abbraccio,

Cher

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