Arcadia Spain

As a traditionally Catholic country, most festivities in Spain have a religious origin. For instance, Labor Day which is celebrated on May 1, was originally the day of San José Obrero, celebrating José de Nazaret as the patron saint of all workers. In recent times, Spain has evolved from a Catholic country to a rather “culturally Catholic” country. Most Spaniards are raised in Catholicism, but do not practice their faith as much, other than attending weddings, baptisms, and first communions as social acts. 

This week, Halloween is celebrated around the world, especially in the United States and the Anglo-Saxon world. In Spain, we do have a traditional (religious) festivity; it is actually a two-day celebration coinciding with similar Roman Catholic celebrations: All Saints Day on November 1, a national holiday, and All Souls Day on November 2. It is a celebration of remembrance in honor of departed loved ones.

On these days, family members (mostly older generations) visit the cemeteries to bring fresh flowers to their deceased relatives and keep their memory alive. The Catholic Church celebrates with a special service in memoriam of people who passed away. Despite being a holiday, many flower shops are open and it is in fact, the day of the year when most fresh flowers are sold (probably followed by February 14). In some small towns there are special bus services to the cemeteries that are out of town as well so that everyone can visit their beloved ones. The cemetery is full of people and graves are decorated with flowers of all colors, although the traditional one this season is marigold. 

There are some special treats for this holiday, such as buñuelos (sweet fritters), and huesos de santo (“saint's bones”) that are made of marzipan, or panellets in Cataluña. According to the legend, when you eat one of these treats, a soul is released from purgatory; you can imagine we eat a lot of treats these days! Eating chestnuts and sweet potatoes is also a tradition in this holiday (as well as for the rest of the fall/winter).

Speaking of treats, giving the strong influence of the United States, Halloween (“All Hallows’ Eve”) has now become one more traditional celebration in Spain. Although trick-or-treat is not a thing here, some schools celebrate Halloween parties, and children get to wear spooky costumes and eat some candy. It is also an excuse to go out on the eve of November 1, and in college cities like Granada, there are now Halloween parties at clubs, where best costumes get a prize.

At Arcadia Granada, we've been trick-or-treating the students for a few days now, but they are spending the weekend in Morocco as part of their core course, which is not bad at all.  No spooky costumes this year though!