HALLOWEEN or ALL HALLOWS' EVE

Whether we like it or not, the Anglosaxon world has pervaded Spanish society and is here to stay. 

The term "Anglo-Saxon" can be used in a variety of contexts, often to identify the English-speaking world's distinctive language, culture, technology, wealth, markets, economy, and legal systems.

One of the many examples is the festivity of Halloween, which Spanish children are so eager to celebrate at school. My daughter starts to talk about it well before it's due and her main concern is what she will wear on that day. 


Halloween or All Hallows' Eve is celebrated on 31st October and is considered a pagan festivity by the Catholic world. Spain being a country of so much Catholic tradition began to frown upon this festivity as soon as it made its appearance in our society; something which children, so attracted to anything that means fun and festivity, don't give it much thought. Finding the right disguise so that they can impress their friends is what keeps them occupied the previous weeks. The phrase Trick or treat is constantly uttered on that day. We can now say that Halloween is here to stay and forms part of our festivity calendar. 


This festivity has its origins in the Celt world, a people whose culture spread across Europe more than 2000 years ago. The Celts celebrated the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the Celtic New Year on the night of October, 31st.  This time was considered to be a liminal zone in which both the living and the death could merge. To prevent the ghosts from invading the living world, they lit bonfires to drive away the evil spirits. The growing power of the Catholic Church eventually turned it into what we know here in Spain as All Saints' Date (Día de Todos los Santos) or Hallowmas. Hallow meaning holy and mas referring to mass. The night before was All Hallows' Eve whose phonetics turned into the well-known Halloween. The festivity was soon exported to the United States by the Irish immigrants driven away from their homeland during the Irish Potato Famine during the 1840s. Not only did they bring the holiday but the customs that went with it. One of the best-known artifacts is the jack-o'-lantern, a carved pumpkin which is lit inside. 

I encourage you to further your knowledge about this Halloween emblem on the highlighted wikipedia entry; tradition and folklore mix. 

Last but not least, here is a website full of links related to Halloween for all levels and tastes: http://www.esolcourses.com/topics/halloween.html