Categories: Catalan folklore

Halloween and Castanyada in Barcelona

Halloween is a yearly celebration that happens on the 31st of October. Particularly famous in North America, Halloween’s customs are believed to be influenced by Celtic-speaking countries’ folk customs.

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Halloween

The last night of October is the night where people all ages get dressed in costumes and celebrate Halloween. Houses, buildings, and local businesses decorate their windows with scary items, children go trick or treating (Truco o Trato in Spanish), and adults go to parties at popular venues.

Nightclubs & Restaurants

This city’s most famous nightclubs usually host big Halloween parties. For a night out dancing, try Razzmatazz, CDLC Club, Sutton Club, Opium Mar, Shoko Club, or Sala Apolo.

Enigmatium

Enigmatium is a restaurant that offers nights of mystery, puzzles and humor in an interactive production. The restaurant is so enigmatic, it doesn’t actually reveal its location. People have to follow clues to discover it!

La Posada Maldita

La Posada Maldita is a horror-theme restaurant in which the waiters are dressed as scary, mangled creatures. The restaurant also offers horror shows.

La Posada Maldita is located at Avinguda de la Flor de Maig, 57, at Cerdanyola del Vallés, 40 minutes away from the center of Barcelona.

PortAventura

A great option to spend a fun day with the family is to visit PortAventura, an amusement park located an hour and a half from the center of Barcelona, that offers special rides and a lot of surprises during Halloween.

PortAventura is located at Avinguda de l’Alcalde Pere Molas, Km2, Vila Seca, Tarragona.

The day after Halloween

The 1^st of November is a public holiday in Spain called “Todos los Santos” (All Saints Day). This is a day when people go to church and visit the graves of loved ones who have passed away. But November 1^st is also a celebration day in Barcelona, where the streets fill with artists, dancers and stalls offering food, objects and services.

This is also the day when Barcelona has its annual Castanyada. The Castanyada is a festival in which people get together and create a fire in an open space, placing a tambor over the hot coal, which is then covered in castañas.

During the Castanyada, it is also common to eat panellets (a typical Catalan pastry) , boniatos (sweet potatoes), candied fruit and drink muscatel wine.