Halloween in Spain.

Halloween or “All Hallows Eve” has Irish Celtic origins. It could be that it was a pagan ceremony to celebrate the end of the harvest or simply, the eve of All Saints day, on 1st November, when the Christian church celebrates the lives of martyrs and saints. 

Spain is still a very religious country and November 1st is one of the most important days in the Catholic Church´s diary.  “All Saints Day” also called the “Day of the Dead” is the day when people remember loved ones who have passed away. They buy flowers and make pilgrimages to the cemeteries to decorate graves and honour the memory of those who are no longer with us. This day is, for most, a sombre and reflective day to spend with your family. 

Halloween was the evening before when people would attend mass and light candles and lanterns to guide the souls of the dead to heaven. Originally All Hallows Eve was also respectful and dedicated to honouring the dead. However, these days the influence from the UK and US have commercialised the festival and introduced it to “pop culture”. Modern day traditions include “trick or treat”, candy, lanterns and halloween costumes. 

Halloween was only very recently included in the festival calendar here in Spain. It is still not celebrated in more rural areas where there are few foreigners. Here in the Valle del Pop, aka the Jalon Valley, less than 10 years ago local people did not celebrate Halloween. It would have been considered irreverant and disrespectful. Of course these days, with television, the internet and Western influences, in particular American pop culture, Halloween has become more popular with children of all ages and even the adults are coming round! 

Children in the towns and villages in the Marina Alta these days are enthusiastic about dressing up, carrying lanterns and there are even some “trick or treaters”. The village of Llíber has a well organised event for the children in the central plaza. The kids dress up and congregate to compare outfits and even some of the parents get dressed up.

 An announcement is made and, when they hear the words “truco o trato” (trick or treat), the kids set off to knock on doors to collect their booty! Of course not everyone welcomes the disturbance so the residents who don´t mind and want to join in, leave a lantern at the door and the idea is that the other folk don´t get disturbed. Afterwards there are tables set up in the plaza for those that want to take part in the “Cena Terrorífica” (dinner of terror). There are games and a “Tunel del Terror”- which is a tunnel of ghosts and ghouls, only for the brave kids!

If you want to join in, go along to the plaza, Bar Varetes will be open. Just make sure you take some candy! If you want to join the dinner party afterwards, see the poster below for contact details.

The team at Jacaranda Spain would like to wish you a very happy and spooky Halloween!