The month of November does not enjoy a good reputation. However, we could save from criticism the Catholic Church, which invites the faithful to honor the memory of their deceased alongside the commemoration of the Saints, while the Italian Republic celebrates the Fallen of all wars and the Unity of the Nation.
Instead, we see a minefield when facing the popular tradition that places, between November 1 and 2, the night when the collective imagination celebrates the return of the dead with rituals often quite pagan in nature, but in the past entirely harmless and rich in suggestions. Each region of Italy, every country in Europe has its own ritual that fits into the so-called magical period from October 31 to November 11 (day of the celebration of San Martino, the patron saint of Belluno). This was a true New Year connected to the agricultural world, marking the beginning of the most difficult season, and therefore in need of propitiatory rites. “It was also a time for predictions, and it was believed that the dead themselves, returned from the afterlife, gathered in their old homes with their families and performed divinations. The fact that, since the 10th century, the Church had chosen November 2 as the day for the celebration of the remembrance of the dead only fueled the belief that, during those days, something supernatural occurred.”
Tradition reminds us that during this period, there were sounds of bells ringing, processions to and from the cemetery, the preparation of homemade foods like “pan dei mort,” and carved pumpkins containing lit candles. Something similar to “trick or treat” also existed here, where the songs of caroling continue with San Martino e San Nicolò and Epiphany.
That said, as often happens, certain traditions risk overflowing their original meanings to become a phenomenon of purely commercial character. Thus, some traditions crossed the ocean, Americanized, and then the large consumer industry brought them back to Europe, marketing them for dollars, euros, or pounds. At this point, the light inside the pumpkin, instead of being a source of illumination, seems to obscure the commemoration, leaving nothing of our deceased’s memory.
In the ritual of visiting graves on November 2, however, some of us have assured that on that day, they did not think at all about “trick or treat,” but turned their thoughts to the memory of those who left us and who always deserve our remembrance.
It is true that the month of November does not enjoy a good reputation, but November 2 can be celebrated not with the sadness of separation, but with the serenity of gratitude: indeed, it is often about honoring the memory of our parents and grandparents to whom we owe our lives, prosperity, and freedom.
That day many of us placed a flower on the graves of strangers who would otherwise have remained forgotten. Perhaps because their relatives have emigrated to the ends of the earth. At the same time, thoughts went to those same emigrants who, thousands of kilometers away, can only offer a prayer for the deceased in front of a photo illuminated by a candle. Halloween? No thanks, and no pumpkin, of course...