Mysterious figures mixing potions; skull rituals; and tales of witches on October 31st?  All par for the course on Halloween night. But in Galicia, in Spain's northwest corner, these creepy doings go back thousands of years, when back in the mists of time this northwestern corner of today’s Spain was dominated by Celtic tribes, who lived here even before some migrated to today’s British Isles as well as northern France.

Galicia was settled by Celts as far back as 900 BCE, and they and their Druid priests marked the transition from the summer harvest season to the beginning of the darkness of winter with a festival called Samhain (Samaín in Spanish), which by extension also aimed to unite the worlds of the living and the dead. The meiga (witch) has always been a central figure in Galician folklore. And Samhain has been experiencing a renewal in recent years, celebrated all over the autonomous community with – among other things – bonfires; the telling of scary stories; the casting of spells; mystical Celtic chants; re-enactments; and consumption of the flaming queimadas, "witches brews" made from potent local aguardente (firewater).

Read more about all this in our post Happy Halloween! In Galicia, Spain, 'Samhain' Means Fright Night.

Alfonso Sanglao