This time of the year is the end of the harvest season; the days start getting shorter, the weather gets colder… In short, the end of octubre (October)-beginning of noviembre (November) marks the transition into otoño (autumn) and invierno (winter). It’s time for Samaín and other celebrations.

 We don’t celebrate Halloween as such in Spain, although in recent years it’s common to see both kids and adults dressing up on October 31 and Halloween parties being advertised. This is not a traditional celebration, though; but I guess any excuse is good to party! There are, however, some traditional celebrations:

Día de Todos los Santos (All Saints Day) & Día de Difuntos (Day of the Dead)- 1 & 2 de noviembre

These two days are all about remembering those who passed away. Most of the activity takes place on November 1, which is a national festivo (public holiday). On this day, people visit their loved ones in cemeteries and take flowers to them. Christianity has been honouring the dead on these dates from the 9th century, but there are older traditions…

Samaín (from the Irish Samhain)

It’s an old Celtic celebration marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It was a time when the limits between this world and the next one got blurred, meaning that spirits could cross over to this world more easily. In Galicia there was a tradition of carving calabazas (pumpkins) and leaving them on the roads in order to scare passers by. People would also leave fires on all night, as well as food, for the spirits. Since 1990 there have been attempts to recover this old tradition.

Magosto (chestnut party)

Linked to the end of the harvest season, magosto is celebrated mostly in northern Spain, as well as Portugal. The main elements of a magosto are castañas (chestnuts) and fire to roast them. People would gather around a bonfire, roast castañas (other foods too, but chestnuts are essential), sing and dance. It was also the perfect opportunity to taste the new vino (wine). There is not fixed date to hold a magosto. It could be any time between mid-October and mid-November. Usually, the last day to celebrate a magosto is November 11, festivity of St. Martin. Magostos apart, it’s common to see chestnut sellers on the streets once autumn starts. So, when you are out for a walk you can just buy a cone full of warm, freshly-roasted chestnuts. Delicious and a great way to warm your hands on cold days!

You can buy roasted chestnuts on the street.

Today’s Spanish words

Would you like to know about other Spanish celebrations? Check these posts:

El Carnaval, about the Carnival celebrations that usually take place around the end of February or beginning of March.

Feliz Navidad, about the celebration of Christmas in Spain.

Semana Santa, about the Easter celebrations.

¡Buen Camino!

O Camiño de Santiago |

Imagine you are on the Camino Francés… or on the Camino del Norte, or the Primitivo or even on the Vía de la Plata. It doesn’t really matter.

The thing is, you are walking across Spain. Maybe you’ve prepared before your trip and learned a bit of Spanish. Or you’ve been picking up a few words along the way. And then you enter Galicia and you get the impression that people sound different.

What’s worse: things start getting confusing. Now you see Fisterra… later you see Finisterre… Are they different places? Is it the same place?

The good news is that you are not going crazy. Let me explain

Spain has not always been Spain as we know it today. A few centuries ago, there were several smaller kingdoms, ruled by different kings and queens. One of these kingdoms was the Kingdom of Galicia, which included the north of modern day Portugal as well as part of Asturias and León.

Latin was the language generally spoken in the Iberian Peninsula, but at some stage it started developing differently in different areas until it became several different languages. Some of them have survived until our days and they are co-official, together with Spanish, in their respective territories.

Such is the case of gallego (Galician), or galego in the Galician language. And that’s what you are hearing!

So, instead of teaching you Spanish, today I decided to teach you a few Galician words. After all, no matter what Camino you choose, the last 100km will always be in Galicia.

O Camiño de Santiago |

But let me give you a bit of background info first

• The first written documents in gallego date back to the 12th century and during the Middle Ages, gallego was the language of poetry in all of Spain.

• Gallego and portugués were initially the same language, but by the 14th century, that language had already split into the two separate languages we have today. This means that gallego and portugués have a lot in common. So, knowing a bit of gallego will help you in Portugal too!

• Towards the end of the Middle Ages, gallego ceased to be used by the higher classes, due to political circumstances. It survived till our days thanks to peasants and fishermen, who kept it alive even if it was only orally.

• In the 18th century, a group of intellectuals started becoming interested in the Galician language. One of them was Padre Sarmiento, whose pilgrimage to Santiago inspired the Variante Espiritual route.

• One of the first and most popular authors to write in galego was Rosalía de Castro, who lived in Padrón, on the Camino Portugués.

• We Galician people like to add the diminutive -iño/-iña to almost any word! It adds proximity, familiarity and even affection. So grazas (thank you) becomes graciñas and ata logo (see you later) becomes ata loguiño!

And here are the words… 

Today’s (not Spanish) words

If you’d like to increase your Galician vocabulary, check Galician on the Camino.

The podcast transcripts.

Bo Camiño!