What is Todos Los Santos? (EP 41)

Every November 1, Spain marks Día de Todos los Santos, the All Saints' Day holiday when families fill the cemeteries to scrub their relatives' markers and leave chrysanthemums, and when pastry shop windows fill with little marzipan bones called huesos de santo. Marti Buckley explains where the feast came from and why November 1 and November 2 are two separate days but in Spain are folded into one. We'll talk (of course) what gets eaten: the huesos, the buñuelos de viento that are said to free a soul from purgatory, the panellets and roasted chestnuts of la Castanyada. And then we head north for the carved pumpkins of Galicia's Samaín and the Basque Gau Beltza, customs that nearly vanished before towns brought them back, plus a few other customs from the rest of Spain. If you want more about Spain: ∙ Subscribe to Marti's Substack at https://substack.com/@martibuckley ∙ Follow her on Instagram @martibuckley ∙ Visit her blog at travelcookeat.com