Halloween is here!!!!

What is Halloween and What It Is Not?

The Origins of Halloween; Samhain  and  the Celts

From some Spanish people´s point of view Halloween may mean anything at all. Others will connect it simply with costumes which mums and dads have to get for their kids in a hurry to attend a party somewhere.

Many others may think that this fest-like doesn´t suit them at all. But this is quite a wrong image. Its origins are certainly Celtic. And the Celts were settled in our country long time ago.

They used to celebrate on October 31 the end of the year with the Samhain. Samonis was the twin fest for our All Saints Holiday (and also All the Dead as well). SAMONIS became Samuin or Semain in the Old Irish, and SAMHAIN in the Modern language.

Its culture was integrated in ours anyhow. It was to celebrate the end of the harvest.  On the 31^st of October the Celts believed that all the spirits of the dead came to Earth again. For fear of those spirits, they used to dress themselves with animals heads and skins.

Later on, Irish people moved to America bringing this holiday with them and some elements we are familiar with.

The word “Halloween” comes from the contraction All Hallows´Eve (o Víspera de Todos los Santos) on November 1 and on which Catholic Church honors all its Saints.

Elements such as:

Pumpkin: Though we can´t imigine a Halloween without this vegetable, the true is that it isn´t a real symbol from the primitive Samhain neither from the old Halloween of the European Celtic people. The Irish people found the pumpkins when they settled in America. Then the pumpkins connected with Jack´s legend or Jack-o-lantern used as candels to play the game Trick or Treat.

Trick or Treat:  All children disguise with the most terrorific costumes compete to become the most fearful and visit house by house with an ultimatum "trick or treat", and if not they will fear them unless they get some sweets or money.

Sweets: Another tradition is to ask for sweets and also to eat them. Its tradition comes from November 2 (Day of All Souls-Día de todas las Almas), the Christian people used to go from town to town asking for soul cakes -tortas de alma" with sweet bread taste. Then this tradition came into the Halloween holiday as another important element.

Very popular sweets such as:

Black and Orange Boo Cups (Tazas de abucheo negro y naranja)

Creepy Crawlers (Aduladores espeluznantes)

Mini Pumpkin Patch Cakes (Mini tortas de trozos de calabaza)

Nutty Ghosts (Fantasmas de nueces)

Spider Critter Cakes (Pasteles "aquí bizcochitos" de araña)

Spooky Snack Hands (Manos de bocado)

Frightful Sweets (Caramelos espantosos)

Sugar Cookie Ghosts (Fantasmas de galleta de azúcar)

Gingerbread Jack-O´Lanterns (Linternas de Jack de Jengibre)

Shortbread "Fingers" (Mantecado de dedos)

Halloween Games:

Look for Spirits

Frightening stories

With a mixture between Halloween holiday and the celebration of the harvest, the Autumn and its fruits such as chestnuts, especially in barbercue, all students from “Azorín” school disguised themselves with different costumes quite suitable with Halloween date and tasted the fruits of the harvest: barbecue chestnuts as well.

Rosario de Arriba del Amo