Halloween, the holiday celebrated each year on 31 October dates back more than 3000 years.
Origins
The tradition started by the hand of the Celts with its Samhain festival which is celebrated to welcome in the harvest and usher in "the dark half of the year." People lighted bonfires that were left to burn out until the harvest work was complete. Celts believed that the barrier between the physical and the spirit worlds was breachable during Samhain, and souls of the dead, spirits and fairy folk could easily cross into the physical world. Therefore, Celts disguise themselves as animals and monsters so that fairies didn't kidnap them.
Over time, Halloween evolved into the American version of the holiday that includes costumes, trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-laterns, festive gatherings and eating treats.
Halloween in Portugal
In Portugal, the celebration of Halloween used to be related with the All Saint's Day.
I was born and raised in Portugal and when I was a child I used to go with my friends on the morning of 1 November from house to house asking for "Oh tia dá bolinho?". Basically, we were asking for food, more specifically for a sweet cake. People use to give us nuts, chestnuts, several home made cakes, or some money. As I lived in a small village, and people were not afraid, we used to go without our parents. Do not think this was some sort of mistreatment, no way! Also, we were not starving, so it was a moment of gathering and joy.
Our parents used to send young children with older ones so they could take care of the youngest. Plus, people in the village used to know each other and it was a big party for us that were not allowed to eat all the sweets that we wanted, except on All Saints Day :)
In the last years I have been realizing the adoption of the American Halloween traditions, especially in the main cities, and there are several signs of these changes:
- Stores sell Halloween decorations (pumpkins, bats, spiders and so on);
- Restaurants and pubs throw thematic parties and people go out disguised of witches;
- People started organizing to go out on 31 October night asking for candies;
- For the very first time I've seen someone house frontdoor with scary decorations. If for many of you this may be something regular, for me it was the very firstthat I even shot the photo above.
I believe this year and after two years of Covid19 restrictions, Halloween was just one more excuse for people to came out and play.
Although I understand these festivities may have an important role for the belonging of communities, in my opinion the traditional values were lost somewhere in time and these festivities have now mainly commercial interests.
I can't relate with any of these new traditions and I am afraid that local communities loose their old customs. Anyone should be free to choose what one wants to celebrate or not, but each one of us is also responsable for keepin' these memories and not forget that on its origin there were no commercial purposes.
I would like to keep traveling and see local customs instead of american adapted traditions all over the world.