Trick or treating in Portugal

Hello everyone! I just came from trick or treating with a friend of mine, and I wanted to share some curiosities about the tradition here in Portugal.

First of all, here kids trick or treat on all saints day, 1st November, and they usually don't dress up. We don't celebrate Halloween, as the equivalent pagan tradition that Halloween has roots in would be carnival, which I'm thinking of sharing how it is here too because I think it's very cool. 

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Origins

The tradition of putting food on the tombs of the deceased has been done for thousands of years, being probably one of the oldest traditions in human history. While pagan traditions originated what is now Halloween, popular all around the world thanks to American imperialism influence, Christianity saw those already established traditions as an opportunity for people to honor saints, and to pray for those who are dead so they may go to Heaven. That's why 1st November is all saints day, and the next day is day of the dead.

Originally, we only celebrated all saints day as every other Christian holiday, but after the earthquake on 1st November 1755, one of the most violent earthquakes in Portuguese history, that destroyed all of Lisbon and other parts of the country, people started begging to others to give them bread, and that's where the tradition of kids trick or treating every 1st of November started. Because of this origin, the tradition is stronger in the metro area of Lisbon.

Initially, people begged on the streets asking for bread in exchange for praying for the souls of those in purgatory, and for the souls of whoever relative the person who as giving bread wanted them to pray for. This evolved into many phrases like "Oh auntie, give me some cake, for the souls of the saints!" and "Bread for God for the souls of the deceased." but nowadays it is often shortened to either "oh auntie give me cake" and "bread for God". This tradition is often called "bolinho", "pão por Deus" and "santorinho" (diminutive for santo[saint]) depending on the region. 

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The bolinho

The bolinho (bo-lee-ngo) is the treat, what kids are given as they go asking from door to door. Nowadays it's almost always store bought candy, thanks to the Halloween influence, but traditionally, kids were given bread, nuts, chestnuts, cakes and even fruit.

Bolinho is also a cake, typical of the Extremadura region (Leiria district and some parts of Lisbon), one of those that look like bread, made with nuts and/or raisins. Usually home made, it's also given at marriages.

In Azores they have caspiada (kas-pee-ah-dah), a similar cake also baked for this season. It's said that it looks like the top of a human skull, as a way of honoring the dead, which I can't see it but alright. 

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Personal notes

Every year I have new experiences, meet new people, and have fun anyways :]. My best experience today was when we asked bolinho on a house, and we saw a group of elderly people chatting together who welcomed us to come inside and to drink and eat with them. Total strangers btw. They offered us juice and cake, it was probably someone's birthday. I've been invited to the house of strangers before, specially on this date, but never felt the energy of being with a group of very old friends, treating you like you're family, even though it's the first time you see them. 

It's interesting to see similar traditions evolve divergently for different reasons. Before Halloween was popular in Portugal our kids were already trick or treating!

In the end both Halloween and all saints day are traditions that lost their original meaning one way or another. I doubt people who celebrate Halloween do it because they're hopping for a good harvest, and all saints day is being watered down to just another version of consumerist halloween. It's hard to see it having the same fate as Christmas and Easter, but people think more about doing things for the sake of tradition and because everyone does it, than to do it knowing the reason behind it. I guess it can't be helped.

I hope everyone had a good Halloween, a good all saints day, and a good day of the dead.