Three days left until Halloween… the scariest day of the year! It’s known that the night of the 31st everyone puts a costume on and goes outside to ask for trick or treat, in other words, for sweets. Children, teens and even adults enjoy this tradition, but is it the same in all countries? In this article, we are going to see how some different Spanish and South American citizens celebrate Halloween.
Spain
In Spain the tradition is equal to the Irish and the North American. The afternoon of the 31st, families go outside dressed up as scary characters to ask for sweets. They knock on the door and ask “¿Truco o trato?”, which in English it would be “Trick or treat?” and the owner of the house gives them some caramels and sweets.
Mexico
This tradition must be the most popular around the Spanish-speaking countries. In Mexico, they celebrate “El Día de los Muertos”, an ancient tradition which is even intangible cultural heritage according to the UNESCO. They don’t dress up, but they have a lot of parades with animation and representations of the ancient times, and they worship their loving ones who passed away making altars with their photographs, food and flowers, as they think that that night the dead visit us. As a recommendation, the film “Coco” by Disney Pixar explains this perfectly and is a great opportunity to learn Spanish with films.
Colombia
In Colombia, the tradition is called “La Noche de Brujas”. It lasts from the 31st to the 2nd of November. They believed in the past that in these days there was a gap that divided the world of the dead and our world, and that it was very thin, and the dead were between us. The Colombian people decorate their streets and shops and dress up to celebrate this night. They spend around 28 euros per person.
Chile
In a lot of Spanish talking countries apart from the night of Halloween, the 1st of November, a lot of people go to the cemetery to visit the graves of their relatives and take flowers to them. They also pray and remember them. That doesn’t mean that they don’t celebrate Halloween as we do, because they also have costumes and ask for sweets, especially the children.
Peru
The 31st of October apart from Halloween, in Peru it is also celebrated “el Día de la Canción Criolla”, a tribute to the ancient music of Peru. They make a lot of concerts and dance to the music. Otherwise, they also celebrate Halloween as we know it.
Ecuador
As in Peru, the 31st of October they also celebrate another party, in this case the Day of the National Shield. They celebrate their nationality and their country, so everyone is divided: there are people who focus on Halloween and other people who focus on their national day. Obviously, there are people who celebrate both and have a lot of fun.
As we can see, the main celebration revolves around the Irish tradition, which comes in being the day before the 1st of November, a day dedicated to honouring our dead loving
ones. It is interesting how even English and Spanish talking countries that may times don’t have anything in common, can share a lot of ways to celebrate this party and also make known their own traditions. Through this shared festivity, they not only honour those who passed away, they also enrich one another by exchanging their distinct ways of celebrating this special time.
If you want to learn more about the Spanish language and culture, come to the best Spanish language school in Valencia, Spain. We will be happy for you to learn Spanish with us.
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Author: Maria Pilar Casabán
Photo: Yaroslav Shuraev