Samhaín is the original Celtic holiday from which modern Halloween is derived. Since Galicia is a Celtic nation, I have no problem with them bringing back this ancient tradition while the rest of Spain hops on the Halloween train. In Lugo there were some family activities that could easily have been for Halloween--pumpkin carving, costume parade. A key difference is that here the costumes are scary only. Save the funny and clever stuff for Carnival, people! In addition to that, there was a Queimada in the center. Queimada is liquor that they light on fire (thus its name) in a cauldron, after casting a spell on it. Very appropriate for Samhaín then! I went with some English-speaking friends and we were pretty hard to miss. One of the 'sorcerers' told me "It´s better than Coke!" Well, obviously. But man is it strong! We didn't even finish the cups they gave us. Then we went out and had a gay old time, where very few people were dressed up.All Saints Day
Since I missed the train for a day trip, I figured it was as good a day as any to visit the cemetery. Unfortunately, none of my roommates had relatives I could go "visit." Anyways, my friend and I walked an hour, mostly uphill, to get there. Spanish cemeteries are a bit different than American ones in that they don´t have much grass, it's mostly marble tombs above ground, or mausoleums, or a wall with the tombstones. Took a picture of the wall, where it looks eerie, perhaps one of the souls broke out the night before on All Hallow's Eve? The cemetery was packed, with tons of fresh flowers, probably because of the holiday. In fact they had a special bus going from the cemetery to the city center. The night was finished off with a movie filmed in a place I´ve visited in Basque Country: Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi.
