The Chestnut festival tradition

“La Castanyada” is a popular festivity, rooted in Catalonia, that adopts other formats and names in Spain and Portugal. Or in Anglo-Saxon countries such as Scotland, England or Ireland—called Samhain, which literally means the end of summer—from where it leaped to the United States. The festivity becoming there the American Halloween. Movies and fashion have managed to impose the tradition also in many European homes: costumes, sweets and the “trick or treat”.

The strength of the Anglo-Saxon fashion prevails here and around the world. Nobody escapes. However, perhaps in more rural areas, traditions keep pace with the “coolest” trends and it is precisely this most classic Chestnut festivity that we should talk about. We must talk about it and preserve it too.

In Catalonia, the Chestnut celebration is closely linked to All Saints' Day (November 1st), just before All Souls' Day. It is also true that many Catalan families celebrate it on All Saints' Eve. In most historical and ethnographic explanations of the festivity, in different sources consulted, the origin of our “Castanyada” dates back to the end of the 18th century and derives from the funeral meals. Food had a symbolic sense of communion with the souls of the deceased: "Three parts of the Rosary are prayed in all Christian houses before celebrating the Castanyada", is written in the Alcover-Moll dictionary.

Tradition, yesterday and today

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Chestnuts, eaten since ancient times, have many consumption possibilities. They can be candied, they can be eaten raw, they can serve as a side dish to stews and even flour can be made for bread. In the case in question, the chestnuts are roasted. They can be cooked in the oven, microwave or in the stove at home, but they are top notch if you have the possibility of toasting them over a wood fire, in a fireplace or chimney. It is as simple as making one or two cuts, at one of the ends, to prevent them from bursting or jumping with the heat. To cook them, in this case, it is necessary to have a pan with holes. In any case, on the Internet you will find a lot of websites that detail how to prepare them at home, in case you do not have a fireplace.

The chestnut is a fruit native to Asia. In Catalonia, the ones from the Montseny or Alt Empordà areas, among others, are the best known. By production quantity, Galician and Leonese are the most common in establishments and markets.

Magosto or magusto or Los Finaos

Our Castanyada festivity receives different names in the rest of the country. They have a common denominator, the chestnuts, but the celebration has varied formats and the menus change, depending on the area. While here in our territory muscatel takes center stage, in other places, such as Galicia or Asturias, grape liqueur or cider are used. In Galicia the festival is called Magosto; in Portugal, Magusto, and in the Canary Islands, Los Finaos.

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