Halloween in Germany

November 1st is All Saint's Day. It is a Catholic memorial day and there is a mass said on that day.

Jo,

Not trying to hijack this thread but perhaps you can shed some light on something that I observed over 30 years ago in Germany.

We were driving through the village of Bann in der Pfalz on Halloween. There was a procession of children carrying orange lanterns to the cemetery. Later when we passed through the village and the lanterns were distributed about the cemetery, perhaps on the graves but I am uncertain.

I have asked about this before and it was suggested that I was wrong about the date and the color. I was told that there is a holiday in November when red lanterns are placed in the cemetery.

I am old enough to mixed things up a bit. Still, I noted the event at time as Halloween and wondered about a possible connection to our use of lighted pumpkins. I have read that our use of carved pumpkins is related to carved turnips in Ireland. Still, I was struck by the similarity of lighted pumpkins and orange lanterns. It had feeling much like our own celebration of Halloween.

Bann is very near several US miltary installations: Lanstuhl, Kaiserslautern, etc. Perhaps there was even a mingling of traditions.

Any ideas?

Regards, Gary

Well, there is St. Martins Day when all the children make lanterns and go on a procession thru the neighborhood. Sometimes, even St. Martin will show up on his white horse to lead the procession. This takes place on 11 Nov. usually. I have never seen or heard about the lanterns in the cemetery though. It might be a tradition in the smaller villages for "All Hallows Eve, or All Saints Day" something like that. I will ask around though and find out for sure and get back to you.

Last year we were in Salzburg in early November and the cemeteries there had red lanterns on the graves and lots of flowers. Maybe it was All Souls' Day. Also we were in Rothenburg on November 1 and that apparently was a major holiday. Only one gate to the town was open which created a real adventure for us to find our hotel. Had our first fender bender in Europe there.

The lanterns probably were taken to the cemetery on All Soul's Day; that day the devout decorate family graves and light candles in the departeds' honor. It has nothing to do with the Halloween custom that is growing quite rapidly also in Europe (mostly for the kids' treats aspect)

For me as a kid Halloween was not primarily about candy, anymore than Christmas was primarily about presents.

Christmas was about the mutually complementary stories of the birth of Christ and the acts of St. Nicholas. Perhaps that is so because extensive gift giving was not that common in our family.

Halloween was about magic and mystery, (Jack-O-Lanterns, witches, ghosts, etc.) and tramping around after dark. Seeing children walking the streets in the evening with their lanterns did spark a familiar note with me. I wondered if the American traditions of trick-or-treat (children's night out) and lighted pumpkins might have partially had its roots in the small procession that I saw.

Unfortunately, Halloween has become mostly about the candy just as Christmas has become much about the presents.

Regards, Gary

Halloween has gained popularity as a pop culture tradition from America. For scary local traditions in Austria near Christmas there is a scary monster that runs through the streets and hits people with a broom! don't know the name of this but my son came home after a year abroad there and brought home a scary mask from this holiday. Pagan, pre-Christmas, anyone know what that was?

Just thought I would bump this up to the top and get back into the Halloween mood. It is my favorite holiday and I guess I thought folks might be interested in doing something completely different while over here in Germany.

My understanding is that the closest thing to Halloween in Germany is St. Martins day. Children walk around with lanterns and sing (like Christmas caroling) and are rewarded with treats.

I've also heard that there are attempts to try our Halloween tradition with varied results.