On October 31, the Halloween Party is celebrated
Do you know what Halloween means? And why do they call it the night of terror and we dress up as terrifying things? Do you know the reason for the bonfires, the spells, the pumpkins and the candies?
From the Hotel Grums Barcelona we explain it to you. Halloween night or Halloween, is a mix between the Christian celebration of the day of all the dead and the celebration of the Celts of ancient Ireland, this festival is celebrated on October 31. The origin of this celebration comes from the Celtic culture leading to the end of summer and the beginning of a new year, It was then believed that the souls of the dead returned to our world, spirits (both good and bad)visited the living, which is why a set of rituals was created around this belief.
Why a pumpkin? What does it represent?
Do not think that the well-known Halloween pumpkins were always the protagonists, before the turnips were, as you are reading it, incredible right? Lanterns were made with them to illuminate and honor the deceased. What happened then? That the Celts emigrated to America and with climate change, rain, sun, temperatures … they realized that it was much easier to carve a pumpkin than a turnip. And why is the pumpkin shaped like a face? Legend has it Jack O’Lantern was a wicked man, who drank desperately and was very calculating, so much so that he managed to deceive the Devil himself.
One day the devil appeared to take him away and Jack made his last wish in exchange for his soul. so Jack asked him to climb a tree and bring him an apple that was on top. He took advantage of that moment to carve a cross in the trunk and thus prevent it from going down. He told him to set him free once and for all and to leave his soul alone. Over time Jack finally passed away and his spirit went to hell, but the vengeful Devil threw him out by throwing the embers into a turnip that will burn forever. Since then Jack has put the embers inside a turnip and used it to light himself and thus find a place to rest his anguished soul. Therefore, the Halloween pumpkin has a human face: it is the face of Jack O’Lantern. Since then on Halloween night the pumpkins have been lit up to scare away the Devil himself.
Trick or Treat
The children go out on Halloween night disguised with a little basket and go through the doors of the houses to ask for candy or sweets. They offer two options to whoever opens:
Trick that means that you accept that the children do you a mischief, oh yes, without candy or sweets or you can choose Treatment that means that you agree to give them candy or sweets and thus avoid any mischief from the children.
Why do we dress up on Halloween night?
I think without a doubt that what fascinates us most on Halloween night is being able to disguise ourselves with total freedom, mainly they are costumes of the undead, ghosts, witches … legend has it that it was a way to scare away spirits and so also mislead them in this gloomy night.
How do we Catalans celebrate Halloween Night?
Our tradition is based on getting the whole family together on October 31 at night and having delicious baked sweet potatoes for dinner with some chestnuts on the fire and some sweet panellets accompanied by a delicious cava … the most daring later we went out to wander around the houses playing Trick or Treat under a terrifying disguise to avoid being recognized by the spirits. As a tradition the next day we go to the cemetery to visit our deceased and bring them flowers.Happy Halloween to all … See you at the hotel.