Trick or treating with all the saints (Truco or trato con todos los santos)…

Last night was Halloween, or like they tend to say here Halowin. The H in Spanish is silent, it’s the G that gives a similar sound, although it comes from deeper in the throat.  So an English word that starts with an H can be quite difficult for Spaniards to say, leading them to often over-pronounce the H. It’s reminiscent, although not quite as extreme, as Manuel from Faulty Towers:

Now before you get up in arms at me for poking a little fun at Spaniards speaking English, I promise I’m doing it in the best humour. Besides, I’m acutely aware of my own accent when I speak Spanish – which is a bit of a shocker - so I know I’m in no position to throw stones.

But back to Halowin. It’s become quite a thing here in Spain, as judging by the photos my friends with kids have been putting up on Facebook, it has in Australia too. I don’t remember it being that way when I was a child.

Here though, the truco o trato of October 31^st is just a prelude to a much older tradition and holiday: the Día de Todos los Santos (All Saints' Day), which is today.

It’s probably the busiest day of the year for floristas (florists) and most certainly for cementarios (cemeteries). It is the day to take flowers to the graves of your loved ones, make sure all is nice and tidy and to stop for a little chat with the dearly departed.

It’s quite a sight: typically chaotic throngs coming and going and buying flowers at the myriad of flower stalls just outside the cemetery, most of which have sprung up just for the day. The stalls closest to the cemetery entrance seem the most official, becoming less so the further away you go until finally you find the dodgiest-looking venders flogging flowers of dubious origin, but much cheaper.

All ready for the big day - in Poblenou Cemetery

Just outside the cemetery gates, a less-fancy set-up (but a nice big smile)

I like Spanish cemeteries. They’re generally very well kept, filled with pencil pines and scattered with impressive, if sometimes somewhat chilling, sculptures and statues.  

The "Kiss of Death" sculpture in the Cementiri de Poblenou. 
Beautiful and someone chilling at the same time.

They’re also home to a style of internment I hadn’t seen in Anglo cemeteries: niches.
In Spain,in the cities at least, most of us live on top of each other in pisos (flats). And if you end up in a niche (which chances are you will), it's the same in death too.

As an aside, I wonder if any Almodóvar fans reading this think a couple of the photos above look a little familiar. If they do, it’s because I took them in Barcelona’s Cementiri de Montjuíc, scene of Rosa´s (Penelope Cruz) funeral in the wonderful film Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother).

Montjuíc Cemetery is spectacular. It seems to have been carved into the steep slopes of Montjuíc, the mountain that pops up right next to the city and port, forming terrace after terrace of tombs and niches, linked by winding, pencil-pine lined roads and perilous sets of steps.

It is on one of these sets of steps that Manuela finally meets up with her long-lost, dying, transsexual ex-husband Lola in one of the climaxes of All About My Mother.  So Almódovar.

Manuela (Cecilia Roth) and Lola (Toni Cantó) in the Cementiri de Montjuíc during Rosa's funeral 
- from Pedro Almodóvar's All About My Mother

But the Día de Todos los Santos is not just about cemeteries; it is also, in typically Spanish style, about food. Just about every Spanish holiday is typified by some type of food - especially something dulce (sweet).

Depending on where you are in the country, the tradition can be different, but there is one that is somewhat common and rather perfect for the day: Huesos de Santos – literally Saints' Bones. They’re little marzipan treats that are meant to resemble the tibia bone. It's a little shocking but actually very fitting for Spain’s Catholic traditions, in which relicarios (relics - basically saints' bones and body bits) are extremely important.

The traditional marzipan treats for the day: "Saints' Bones"

Here in Cataluña there is another traditional treat – Panellets. They’re little pastries that are packed full of sugar, apparently originally designed to keep people going through the long night from All Saints' Day to All Souls' Day (November 2) during which the church bells would ring all night.

Panellets on display in the escaperate (shop window) of my local cake shop

The bells no longer go all night, thank goodness, but the Panellets, happily, live on.