De Pascuas a Ramos

once in a blue moon; **once in a blue moon**; **hardly ever**; **very rarely**; **once in a while** (less emphatic); **once every so often**

De Pascuas a Ramos means very rarely, once in a blue moon or hardly ever.

It describes something that happens infrequently or at long, irregular intervals.

• someone rarely visits
• an event happens only occasionally
• a person almost never calls
• something is done very infrequently
• an occurrence is exceptionally uncommon

The origin lies in the Christian calendar.

Historically, Pascua did not refer exclusively to Easter but to several important religious festivals celebrated throughout the year.

Because these celebrations could be widely separated in time, the expression gradually came to symbolise events occurring only after a very long interval.

Modern speakers no longer think about the liturgical background.

The expression is completely secular today.

Many Spaniards use it without knowing its religious origin.

It is one of the most common ways to say that something happens only occasionally.

Spanish has many expressions for frequency:

• De Pascuas a Ramos → once in a blue moon.
• Cada dos por tres → all the time.
• De vez en cuando → from time to time.
• Nunca jamás → never ever.

Among them, de Pascuas a Ramos is probably the most colourful and traditional way of expressing that something happens only on very rare occasions.

Do not translate the expression literally.

English speakers would never say:

From Easter to Palm Sunday.

Instead, use expressions such as:

• once in a blue moon
• hardly ever
• very rarely
• once every so often

Choose the translation according to the level of emphasis.