Halloween is the evening before the Christian holy day: All Saints Day, which is the most important festival of autumn in Spain.
Do you know that Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.
In the United States and Canada Halloween is officially celebratedsince 1921. In the 70s and 80s it became known worldwide thanks to several movies. Now many European countries celebrate it as well. In Spain this festival is really popular and eveyrone takes part in it. The word “Hallowe’en” means “hallowed evening” or “holy evening”. Actually Halloween is a night of costumes, fun, fear and time of a good party as well 🙂
Halloween in Spain is a three-day celebration that starts on October 31st with Dia de las Brujas (Day of the Witches), then continues on November 1st with Dia de Todos los Santos (All Saints Day) and finish on November 2nd with Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
If you are spending Halloween in Barcelona, you should visit the city’s magnificent cemeteries – Montjuic, Poblenou, and Les Corts. There are some special night tours and wonderful classical music concerts. On October 31st in the city’s famous bars and nightclubs, you’ll also have the chance to enjoy the Catalan tradition of La Castanyada. This is a popular All Saints’ Day festival in Catalonia. Full of various events, music concerts, and stalls filled with seasonal delicacies, including castanyes (chestnuts), sweet potatoes, sweet wine and panellets – small Catalan cakes made of marzipan, almonds, and various flavors.
In Northern Spain, due to the Celtic traditions, Halloween is celebrated with more enthusiasm. In Galicia, a region famous for its rich local folklore and ghost legends, the night of 31st of October is known as Noite dos Calacús (Night of the Pumpkins) and is celebrated through a range of common activities such as pumpkin carving, costume parties, bonfires, rituals, and sometimes even trick-or-treating. Otehr special thing is the quemada – a strong alcoholic drink usually made from aguardiente, unground coffee, sugar, and lemon rind or orange peels. Traditionally, the quemada is prepared within a pumpkin and consumed after reciting a spell (esconxuro).
Trick or treat: even if you think it is something of American movies, is a custom that has spread in Spain. Especially in residential and housing areas. Parents and children visit neighbours and ask for sweets.
Costumes: choose a costume which produce fear. Now it’s time to be a mummy, a vampire or a with.