Halloween Barcelona 2022

Barcelona 2022 Halloween parties & events

Event date:  28 October to 1st November 2022
Event location: Barcelona night clubs & hotels
Hashtags: #halloweenbarcelona

What's on for Barcelona's Halloween celebrations? Although Halloween is not a Spanish or Catalan tradition, the Halloween tradition is very popular in Spain and Barcelona.

Barcelona celebrates Halloween in the same way as other European cities with many Halloween fancy dress parties featuring ghouls, ghosts, witches and zombies.

Kids in Spain also go out and 'trick or treat', which is called 'Truco o Trato' in Spanish.

See our Spanish-English Halloween word list further down the page for more useful Halloween phrases in Spanish.

You can buy Halloween outfits and costumes in Barcelona at shops like Clair's Barcelona and at Barcelona fancy dress shops.
For carving Jack o'Lanterns out of pumpkins see this handy step-by-step pumpkin carving guide and read about the origins of halloween pumpkins.

Barcelona Halloween Parties 

The day after Halloween - 1st November - is a public holiday Todos los Santos - All Saints and so there are many halloween parties in the days up to Halloween and on 31st October Halloween night at all top Barcelona clubs including top nights clubs like the Cafe del Mar lounge,  Pacha, CDLC, Opium, Shoko, Catwalk and Sala Apolo to name just a few. To find all the top clubs in town visit our Barcelona clubs guide.

Barcelona Halloween Events

Top theme park PortAventura World, located one hour south of Barcelona, has fun Halloween activities 

The Spanish village Poble Espanyol usually has a Halloween party for families and children

Ruta de Altares

You might also come across a nice Mexican tradition during Barcelona Halloween period which is the 'Ruta de Altares' - the Alter Route. Around 20 altars are created in tribute to the memory of the departed for the Mexican 'El Día de Muertos' (Day of the Dead)

The alters all have different themes and dedications and can be found in some Mexican bars, associations, shops and galleries around Barcelona. More information and maps about Barcelona Ruta de Altares website

Barcelona party costume shops

Public holiday 1st November

The day after Halloween is 1st November which is a public holiday in Spain called Todos los Santos or Tots Sants in the Catalan language. Both means 'All Saints.' On 1st November you can enjoy the Catalan tradition called La Castanyada and on All Saints' Day it is a tradition is to attend church services in honour of Catholic saints and martyrs and also to visit family graves to place flowers, wreaths and candles.

Cemeteries

Barcelona has nine cemeteries - which are Montjuïc cemetery (the biggest,) Poblenou cemetery, Sant Andreu, Horta (the smallest), Sant Gervasi, Sarrià, Les Corts, Sants and Collserola. On All Saints day - Tot Sants 1/11 the Barcelona cemeteries extend their opening times from 8 am to 6 pm on 27th and 28th October and on 1st November.

Workshops and activities are organised at some graveyards. There are flower stalls at the cemetary gates and extra public transport until 4th November and usually a special shuttle bus service from Plaça d'Espanya to Montjuïc cemetery.

At Montjuic cemetery the Barcelona Cemeteries association (CBSA) usually invites the public to an open day event to visit the Montjuic cemetery museum and its collection of funeral carriages.

Origins of Halloween

Although the modern Halloween is based on traditions from the USA, the origins of Halloween can actually be found in Celtic Britain. The Celts lived in the British Isles during ancient times and worshipped the gods of nature. There were two important festivals in the Celtic calendar, Beltane and Samhain.

Samhain was pronounced something like 'Sow-win,' which might be origin for the modern word Halloween.

Beltane celebrated the beginning of summer. Samhain celebrated the start of winter, and was the first day of the year on the Celtic calendar. The festival of Samhain started on October 31st and finished on November 1st. The Celts were frightened of winter because the days were short and cold, and the nights were very long - they associated winter with death and evil spirits.

The Celts believed that on the night of October 31st the spirits of the dead rose from the tombs and the Celts made big fires to scare the ghosts away. They also wore scary costumes and played games on October 31st to bring good luck for the year. Nuts and apples were eaten and were considered lucky foods. 

The colours of Halloween are also of Celtic origin. Black was the colour of winter and long nights. Orange was the colour of the harvest. The black cat is another symbol of Halloween because the Celts believed that a black cat had special powers.

Useful Spanish Halloween words

Halloween - Noche de Brujas
Pumpkin - La calabaza
Carved pumpkins - calabazas talladas
Lantern - farol
Vampires - vampiros
Ghosts - fantasmas
Witches - brujas
Zombies - zombies
Skeletons - esqueletos
Mummy - momie
Dress up - disfrazarse
Trick or Treat - truco o trato
Sweets and treats - dulces y golosinas

Origins halloween pumpkins
Wikipedia page Halloween
Halloween make-up techniques

Happy Barcelona Halloween!

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