Although Halloween is not a Spanish tradition, and I live in southern Spain, from the first days of October in the town of La Herradura, decorations related to this celebration began to appear in shops and homes. In particular, the busiest pub, The Garage, had its window and the entire premises beautifully decorated several days beforehand. It is clear that this Irish holiday has spread to many countries around the world.

The Halloween celebration, a contraction of the words “All Hallows' evening,” originally had nothing to do with ghosts and pumpkins. It has very ancient origins, stemming from a Celtic tradition brought by Irish settlers to America, which marked the beginning of winter and harvests and the end of the brightest time of the year, spring and summer.

The Halloween celebration for seniors that I was invited to was a quiet gathering for conversation, held early in the afternoon at 5 pm. At this celebration, chestnuts were roasted, a Spanish tradition at this time of year, sandwiches were eaten, and soft drinks, beer, and anise liqueur were served, all while seated at two tables, without music or much commotion.

At dusk, children and young people filled the streets of the town dressed up as pumpkins, ghosts, and skeletons. They went into shops and restaurants asking for candy. They ran hurriedly from one place to another, some in groups, others in pairs. The town was filled with a great vitality that is no longer seen in La Herradura in the fall, since when summer ends and the temperature drops, there are few tourists and the locals usually go to bed early.

After 9 pm, my partner and I went to the pub “La Cochera” for a while, which was the most fun place to celebrate. The whole place was decorated with spider webs, ghosts, tombs, and various Halloween-related themes. There was good music and people in costumes dancing. My first Halloween in Spain was very enjoyable.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed a happy weekend. Greetings from Andalusia, Spain.

Since my native language is not English, I have had to rely on the Deepl.com platform to translate this article into English.