Halloween and Martinstag in Austria and Germany

German Celebrations and Holidays > Halloween • Martinstag

CHRISTMAS COMPARED > Christmas in the USA and Germany

Halloween auf Deutsch

Also see Martinstag below.

Halloween may not be a traditional German celebration, but almost every German youngster knows about it. For adults as well, over the last decade or so Halloween has become increasingly popular in Europe, and particularly in Germany. It is now common to see pumpkin (Kürbis) and jack-o’-lantern decorations in Austria and Germany by mid-October.

Probably as a result of the long post-war presence of Americans in Germany, and Halloween depictions in Hollywood movies and on television, Halloween has become a popular celebration in German-speaking Europe. It’s an American holiday imported from Ireland and now exported back to Europe. The Mardi Gras / Fasching / Karneval aspects of Halloween also have a special appeal to Europeans.

Only in certain regions or neighborhoods do German youngsters actually go trick-or-treating (“Süßes oder Saures!”). But while trick-or-treating may be rare, Halloween has become a very “cool” party theme for young and old. A web search in German turns up many German-language Halloween sites — many of them for party outfitters. More and more German department stores carry Halloween-related items in October. Hamburg’s House of Horror specialty store, which opened for business in 1996, does a brisk business around Halloween.

MORE > Halloween/Martinstag English-German Glossary (AboutGerman.net)

The Pumpkin Festival in Austria

Jack-o'-lanterns at the Retz Kürbisfest in Austria. PHOTO: Wolfgang Zajc (kuerbisfest.at)

Around Halloween, the Austrian town of Retz and neighboring communities, not far from Vienna, hold an annual Kürbisfest (pumpkin festival), complete with pumpkins, parties, and a Halloween-Umzug (Halloween parade). The region around Retz has also become known for its annual pumpkin harvest. Known as Bluza in the regional dialect, the pumpkin becomes the centerpiece of ein Fest für die ganze Familie, a festival for the entire family.

WEB > Kürbisfest im Retzer Land (in German, with photos: October 26-28, 2012)

Halloween Activities and Events in Berlin
In Berlin and other big German cities, Halloween has become an excuse for all sorts of parties and even marketing events. In 2008 Berlin’s Legoland Discovery Centre decided to stretch out the Halloween celebration for six weeks! From Oct. 1 to Nov. 14 most of the store sports a Halloween theme and decorations. In the two weeks before Halloween, Berlin school children get out for “fall vacation” and there are all sorts of parties and excursions built around and leading up to Halloween. Then there’s the usual spate of horror films on TV and in cinemas. A live production of the cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show opens at a Berlin theater on October 31 (in English with German narration) before going on to other German-speaking cities.

Martinstag - November 11
There is an old traditional German custom that has much in common with Halloween: Martinstag (St. Martin’s Day, Martinsmas). The Catholic Martinstag observance on November 11 includes costumes and a lantern procession for children. Also known as Martini in Austria and Bavaria, the feast day of Martin of Tours is celebrated in many parts of Europe, including even some Protestant regions. According to legend, Martin cut his red cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm. The traditional baked goose (Martinsgans) meal on Martinstag is based on another part of the legend. Feeling unworthy of becoming a bishop, Martin hid in a stable filled with geese. The noise made by the geese betrayed his location, and the people of Tours had him consecrated as a bishop.

In parts of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland the Martinstag observance is a children’s affair. Carrying paper lanterns they have made in school, the young children take part in an evening procession, sometimes led by a rider on a white horse, emulating St. Martin and his red cloak. Sometimes the lantern procession ends with a Martinsfeuer (bonfire).

MORE > Martinstag/Halloween English-German Glossary (AboutGerman.net)

The Candy Corn Connection
There is at least one direct German-American Halloween connection. Following the American Civil War, Gustav and Albert Goelitz traveled to Illinois to join an uncle who had emigrated in 1834. After Gustav’s death, his two eldest sons revived the candy business that he and Albert had founded. The story goes that the Goelitz Confectionery Co. invented the popular Halloween confection known as Candy Corn in the 1880s. Records indicate that Goelitz was making candy corn by 1900. That firm’s successor, today’s Herman Goelitz, Inc. of Fairfield, California, is best known as the maker of Jelly Belly jelly bean candy. (For more about Goelitz, see the company’s website: Goelitz Company History.)

MORE > German-English Halloween Glossary (AboutGerman.net)

MORE > German Halloween: Hangman (AboutGerman.net)

MORE > German Celebrations and Holidays

MORE > Christmas in Germany

Related Links

• Halloween Glossary - German-English and English-German vocabulary for the holiday from AboutGerman.net
• German Halloween: Hangman - AboutGerman.net
• German Celebrations and Holidays
• Christmas in the USA and Germany - A comparison chart
• Cultural Comparison Charts comparing various cultural differences between the USA and Germany