Halloween In Spain – The Ins & Outs Of A Scary Night
While Halloween in Spain is borrowed from overseas, the holiday has its own unique Spanish flavor. Each region has transformed the holiday according to its own traditions. To some extent we can say that Halloween does not have the same hype that it does in the US, but it is still a unique tradition which stands apart from the way the holiday is celebrated in other European countries.
Do Spaniards Celebrate Halloween?
Yes, the Spanish love to celebrate Halloween. Halloween in Spain is a three day affair, which starts on October 31st. On October 31st, the Spanish celebrate the Day of the Witches (Dia de las Brujas). This is followed by the All Saints Day (Dia de Todos los Santos) on November 1st , which is the most important of the three and finally the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) on November 2nd.
Rather than a commercial day, this is a holiday that honors the dead and is about the continuity of life. Therefore the traditions of these days reflect this philosophy, and are similar to Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries. The traditions of the Day of the Dead are in fact believed to be inherited from Mexico.
How Do Spaniards Celebrate Halloween: Spain Vs The USA
Some regions have similar practices and traditions as the USA, while others have adapted the traditions completely according to the local community and its preferences. The North of Spain has a strong Celtic influence. Galicians celebrate the Night of the Pumpkins on October 31st, and dress up in costumes, which is similar to the US style of celebration. People tell ghost stories to each other, perform mystic rituals, light a bonfire and even walk around with candles in memory of the dead.
Trick or treating is not a very popular custom in Spain. While some kids will go out on Halloween for this, the tradition does not have nearly enough popularity that it does in the USA and is an optional activity. Most children will just dress up as their favorite cartoon or movie character and attend Halloween themed events and activities. However, some families still prefer trick-or-treating, which is known as Truco o Trato in Spanish.
The northern regions of Spain have a strong Celtic influence and some aspects of Halloween traditions are similar to those in the USA. Galicia for instance has a strong history of local folklore and ghost stories. On October 31st, the locals celebrate the Night of the Pumpkins (Noite dos Calacus) which includes many activities like carving pumpkins, attending costume parties, trick-or-treating and other rituals.
In the bigger Spanish cities, you will also find people decorating their homes for Halloween and adding creepy or scary ornaments to their houses. In some areas, restaurants also offer Halloween themed dinners and parties, and you’ll easily find family friendly events too if you wish to take children along. You can fully expect a creepy atmosphere befitting Halloween. Moreover, while some cities see this as a spiritual holiday that honors the dead, in other cities the atmosphere is completely different. In cities with a large cohort of younger people, or universities, Halloween will be accompanied by late night parties and celebration. You should expect all bars and nightclubs to be full and Halloween fiestas going on in full swing. In some cities, various music festivals and concerts will also be arranged and are worth visiting.
Celebrations on the 31st will mostly take place in larger cities where the Halloween holiday has been commercialized. In other areas, this day is still seen as more of a celebration for children. In most of Spain, celebrations will take place on November 1st, which has also been made a national holiday. The celebrations on this day are more respectful and solemn keeping in mind the tribute to the dead.
How Was Halloween Introduced Into Spanish Culture?
The commercial aspect of Halloween in Spain is a fairly recent phenomenon. Over the last few decades, with an increase in the expat community from all over the world, these traditions have been adopted by Spain. This is reflected in the typical scary costumes and ghoulish décor. So if that is what you are looking for, you will now be able to see it easily in most areas of Spain.
The celebration of the All Saints Day began in Spain in the 4th century to commemorate the martyrs who lost their lives to persecution in the first few centuries of Christianity. Before this, the feast was celebrated on the 13th of May. But Pope Gregory III proposed November 1st to replace the Samhain. The Samhain is a Gaelic festival with its origins in the Celtic tradition. Originally, it marked a celebration at the end of the harvest season and to usher in winter or the darker half of the year. This was celebrated in the Celtic culture on the 31st of October. Over time, it started being called the All Hallow’s Eve and eventually Halloween in some places. Halloween in Spain therefore, has its roots in the ancient pagan tradition. We cannot exactly say it was introduced from any other country since the festival has always existed historically. But interaction with the outside world and the presence of the expat community has morphed the traditions into the more modern version of Halloween that people in the USA are more familiar with. The holiday has definitely been Americanized over the years.
The Controversy Of Halloween In Spain
Every year in Spain when 31st of October comes around, the controversy around Halloween is rekindled. There is a lot of debate on whether the holiday is imported and how disrespectful and sinister it is. This is because the traditional Day of the Dead has been overtaken in bigger cities by the modernized version of Halloween and the Spanish traditions have started disappearing in this process. A lot of the older generation feels that the outside culture is invading local traditions in a sense.
It is true to some degree that today Halloween is celebrated in the country due to American influence and the degree of celebration varies in each region. Some towns have integrated a lot of American traditions like trick-or-treating and wearing costumes, while in others this is still a somewhat alien concept. Moreover, younger people have opted in to the modernized version of the holiday while older people have remained somewhat reluctant to embrace it so wholeheartedly.
Halloween Events In Spain
Each area of Spain will have its unique set of events to celebrate Halloween. La Castanyada is a popular festival with various music events and concerts which is celebrated on the All Saints Day. It also has a number of stalls for seasonal delicacies that are native to the Catalonian region. Families come together on the night of the 31st of October to roast chestnuts and sweet potatoes to welcome the morning of Dia de Todos los Santos. This is believed to be derived from the centuries old tradition when bell-ringers would work throughout the night of the 31st and they were provided food like chestnuts for sustenance. Another celebration centered on food is the Fiesta de la Castana y el Vino or the Wine and Chestnut Festival. This doesn’t just celebrate chestnuts in every form, but also other seasonal delicacies and specialties including the malconicao dish, panellets which are Catalan cakes, almond sweets and sweet wine. You can also find all types of orchestra music, competitions and dancing accompanying this festival.
Sometimes the locals will prepare a drink called Queimada which is a punch drink made using a Galician spirit. The drink also contains flavors of coffee beans, and lemon rind or orange peels. It is prepared by chanting spells and performing other rituals known as esconxuro to protect the person from evil spirits. It is also set on fire during the preparation process and has distinct bluish flames. Another unique dish of the season in The Saint’s Bones or Huesos de Santo. The pastry is made with marzipan filling in a pastry roll made with egg yolks. People might take treats like these when they go to visit their loved ones’ graves.
You can also take part in the Pecha Zombies Party if you are in Malaga. People dress up in all sorts of scary costumes like witches, vampires and werewolves and roam around in the city. While in the USA you might find people dressing up in all sorts of costumes like their favorite television and movie characters, in Spain the costumes are primarily meant to be scary. The spookier the better in fact.
Various other celebrations honor the dead. Families will gather in cemeteries around the graves of their loved ones to remember them and honor their memories. People celebrate by bringing flowers and candles to their deceased family members, which presents a gorgeous scene under the moonlight. They will usually also offer food and prayers. In some places, families also construct altars in honor of the loved ones they have lost with items that were their favorites. In some Spanish cities, it is also traditional to walk around the streets in complete silence while holding candles. This is seen as a way to remember the departed souls.
Final Thoughts
While Halloween in Spain has been modernized and taken on many of the traditions found in the USA, there are still numerous unique Spanish traditions to enjoy. If you are ever in Spain for the holiday, be sure to pack a scary costume so you can enjoy all the festivities to the fullest. But don’t expect people in workplaces to take part in this custom with the same zeal. Costumes are reserved for partying later in the day. For children too, you might be able to find some events that are suitable and enjoyable. Whether you are celebrating Halloween or not, and regardless of the way you are celebrating it, the event is always a good excuse to grab a cold drink and enjoy with your friends!
There are also other interesting celebrations. Madrid has a Halloween pub crawl (starting at the Plaza Mayor) while there is a zombie march featuring all kinds of performers like drummers and dancers in the university town of Alcala de Henares. In Cadiz, the locals have a tradition called the Fiesta de Tosantos. While technically this is not exactly specific to Halloween, it is celebrated on 31st October. It is marked by street performances incorporating humor and satire, with even market vendors across the city taking place in the traditions and celebrations by putting up displays reflecting current affairs. Participants even create dolls in the likeness of public figures and use them to joke about current events and the lives of politicians. As far as Halloween traditions go, this is certainly one of the most unique in Spain.Cocentaina and Catalonia also have their unique local fairs. In Cocentaina, La Fira de Tots Sants is celebrated which is one of the oldest in all of Spain. It is a four day affair, over which 800,000 people visit to enjoy the festival. There are different areas for all types of items: the traditional part in the central plaza, a Christian market and an Arab souk (market), a separate area for animals and for other attractions for children. In Catalonia, they celebrate the Fira de les Bruixes, which is a two-day long Witch Festival. This is celebrated as a marker of the day that 23 women were sentenced to death during the Inquisition after being accused of witchcraft. This is accompanied on October 31st by a ghostly parade in the Placa de l’Esglesia. The next day, you will find the town filled with dancers and street artists performing, and people setting up their stalls. There is also a Witch Museum in the area, and you’ll find artisan crafts and tarot card readings to entertain you during the celebrations.