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File image of revellers in Malaga wearing a variety of homemade and commercially bought outfits. SUR
Pumpkins, ghouls and things that go bump in the night
Halloween

Pumpkins, ghouls and things that go bump in the night

On 31 October, many people in Spain, as well as in other countries around the world, will don scary costumes to take to the streets to enjoy various activities to mark All Hallows' Eve, or Halloween, as it is known in the western world

Tony Bryant

Malaga

Friday, 25 October 2024, 13:45

It is the spookiest night of the year. On 31 October, children along the Costa del Sol, as well as in other countries around the world, don scary costumes to take to the streets to enjoy various activities to mark All Hallows' Eve, or Halloween, as it is known in the western world. One of the most traditional activities is trick-or-treating, which became widespread in the US after World War II. Halloween, however, is thought to date back more than 2,000 years to Samhain, a Celtic New Year's Day that fell on 1 November. Demons, fairies and spirits of the dead were thought to walk the Earth the night before, when the world of the gods was believed to be made visible to humankind.

An ancient Celtic religion with pagan roots and secular traditions that began in the sixth century, Samhain was one of the most important and sinister festivals of the year. Bonfires were lit and gifts of food were offered to the spirits of those who had died in the previous year, while the Celts disguised themselves in costumes in order not to be seen by the spirits.

During the seventh century, Christians began adopting pagan holidays and the ritual became known as All Saints' Day or All Hallows' Day, and the previous night continued to be celebrated with bonfires, costumes and parades.

Halloween arrived in the USA in the 19th century during the peak of the Irish emigration to America, who brought with them their folk customs and beliefs. The holiday, which was merged with existing agricultural traditions, became a time for children to dress up as the ghosts of their dead ancestors, leading many to believe Halloween dabbled in the occult, but it stayed grounded in the autumn harvest. It was the abundance of pumpkins at this time of year that saw the creation of the scary, hollowed-out pumpkin face.

Royal celebration

One of the earliest mentions of typical Halloween celebrations in the UK can be traced to a letter written by Queen Victoria, in which she describes spending Halloween in Scotland in 1869 with "a large bonfire of huge proportions, around which dancing was spiritedly carried on".

Lisa Morton, the author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween, claims that the American middle class were anxious to imitate British customs, although she points out that trick-or-treating seems to have its roots in America. She suggests that it can be traced to an 18th-century American and Canadian Christmas tradition with Germanic roots called belsnickling, in which people in fancy dress would call at houses to perform tricks in exchange for food and drink.

On All Hallows' Eve, pranks began to be played that were often made to look as though supernatural forces had conjured them, so people offered candy as a way to protect their homes from pranksters.

The earliest usage of the phrase 'trick or treat' in connection with Halloween was in a 1927 Alberta (Canada) newspaper article that claimed pranksters had called on homes demanding "a trick or a treat".

Halloween merchandising started to become available in the 1950s, and the tradition became highly commercial. Instead of homemade costumes made with white sheets and fake blood, mass-produced costumes of everything from skeletons and ghouls to horror movie characters like Frankenstein and Dracula became far more popular, as did the decoration of homes and gardens.

As with the Irish influx in the USA in the 19th century, Halloween gained momentum in Spain, especially in the south, with the arrival of foreign residents from all over Europe and America, although it has only been commercially popular for around 15 years.

Today, supermarket shelves are stacked with plastic pumpkin faces and bags of sweets for the tricksters, while specialist shops offer terrifying rubber masks, elaborate costumes and everything necessary to enjoy the night of the dead.

Of course, in Spain All Saints' Day on 1 November is also a national holiday and a day when many visit the cemetery.

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surinenglish Pumpkins, ghouls and things that go bump in the night