HALLOWEEN

 

THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

THE CELTS IN WESTERN EUROPE

 

IRISH IMMIGARTION 

TO THE UNITED STATES

All Saints Days Spain
Dia de Todos los Santos

   All Saints Day in Spain (Todos Los Santos) takes place on November 1st. It is a very important national public holiday when people from all over the country return to their town or village to lay flowers on the graves of deceased relatives. There are few religious days that mean quite so much to the ordinary people of Spain as this solemn festival. 

   However, on November 1st each year, the Feast of All of the Saints is held and this particular public holiday centres around remembering dead family members. Most people will visit the graves of relatives and decorate them with elaborate floral displays. Roads around cemeteries will be crammed with traffic, flower sellers line the streets and, in many places, additional public transport services are organised. Although this might sound over-commercialised and hectic it is actually, for most people, a day of high emotions. The Eucharist, or Mass, will often be performed in the cemetery several times during the day. 

   In common with many festivals throughout the country there are a number of special dishes which are associated with All Saints’ Day. At this time of the year you will also see in the shops huesos de santo – the saint’s bones – which have marzipan, eggs and sugar syrup and buñuelos de viento – puffs of wind – which are doughnuts liberally sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

   One of the All Saints’ traditions across Spain is the performing of the play Don Juan Tenorio, written by José Zorrilla. The final act of this portrayal of Don Juan’s choice between salvation or hell is set in a cemetery with the legendary lover lamenting over his betrayal of his dead lover.