Halloween, Italian style

Until the past few years, there has not been a Halloween tradition in France or western Europe. But marketing being what it is, Halloween has arrived, sort of.

In France over the past few years we have seen some storefronts decorated for Halloween, suggesting that children will dress up, and that candy and treats and pumpkins are somehow involved. But it hs not been a big thing, and we read that most children who participate in Halloween attend parties rather than trick or treat, which is definitely not part of the local tradition.

In Italy we are seeing some bits of promotion of Halloween in stores, including constumes for sale and small toys and candy. We saw one store with trick or treat type bags, but in a size that might contain a bag of M&Ms -- so they haven't got the idea quite yet.

We discovered a few years ago that in Catalonia, a region in southern France/northern Spain, there is a tradition of witches emerging from caves in the spring, flying across the countryside barefoot on their brooms, dressed in spring greens and blues, sprinkling toys and candy for children. These witches are good, happy, smiling witches, and are welcomed by the children. Now we are seeing in Italy these same witches doing Halloween duty, in the fall, with a different color scheme, and toting pumpkins rather than candy and toys. A whole different sort of witch. Here is my favorite shop display. Note their bare toes, twinkling eyes and delightful smiles!