English Version La Castanyada, the Catalan Halloween By: Cristina de Lera Friday October 31 is the eve of All Souls Day, known as Tots Sants in Catalunya, and we celebrate La Castanyada. As the Anglo-Saxon countries celebrate Halloween, or the Galician celebrate Samhain and Magosto, Catalan’s Castanyada comes from an ancient funeral ritual feast, but today is not so linked, celebrating La Castanyada and the Day of the Dead separately. The celebration consists of eating chestnuts, panellets, sweet potatoes, and candied fruit, all accompanied by the typical drink, moscatel. Around the time of the celebration, it is common to see women selling chestnuts in street stalls, -as in the photo-, roasting the nuts and wrapping them in paper bags (paperina). The historicist version of the origin of this tradition, explains that the celebration of the Castanyada was known in the 18th century, and derives from funeral celebrations which were served in legumes and nuts to mourners, and votive breads were offered to the dead: buns, panellons and panellets. The food had a symbolic sense of communion with the souls of the dead: while chestnuts were roasting, people prayed the three parts of the rosary for the deceased family.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 07:43:06 +0000
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