Los Finaos: Canarian culture and tradition against the Anglo-Saxon influence on the Day of the Dead

 

Day of the Dead is approaching, a date of unique festivities around the world but which, with globalization, has been adopting the Anglo-Saxon holiday of Halloween in all its corners, with its characteristic pumpkins, costumes and the famous “trick or treat”. But in the Canary Islands, although it is true that there is also room for this foreign holiday, October 31 has always meant something more; The famous Finaos have been celebrated from generation to generation as a way to honor and remember those who are no longer with us, in addition to coinciding with autumn and the end of the pre-winter harvests.

 

 

The Finaos have exposed the idiosyncrasy of the Canarian people for decades; a family town, with a great religious sense and lover of its customs. Far from pumpkins, candy, parties and loud costumes, the Day of the Dead for many Canarians is a day of remembering family and friends, of pilgrimage to the cemetery to make floral offerings or of attending mass and snacking on chestnuts when they get home.

 

 

But its close relationship with death does not turn the Finaos into a sad or regretful festival, on the contrary, it celebrates the memory of those who are missing and life itself. Even the Finaos festival has similarities with Halloween; In their time, Canarian children would run around the streets with a bag on their backs from door to door asking if there were “santitos”, and if the answer was affirmative they would return home with the bag full of figs, almonds, chestnuts and even eggs.

 

 

Death in the Canary Islands of the XNUMXth century, apart from being a deep pain for the family, was also a defining social factor. Especially for those mothers and wives of the archipelago who suffered the death of their husband or son since it not only meant the loss of a loved one, but also the fact of becoming head of the family while having to digest the pain of loss. This is why our elders feel such strong roots and are a fundamental pillar in the preservation of this very emotional festival in the Canary Islands.

 

 

Today, the Canarian people continue to respect their traditions, proof of this are the events organized by the different town councils and associations for this holiday, such as Santa Lucía de Tirajana, which on the 31st will hold a “Noche de Finaos” in the Zafra or Agüimes Museum, which that same afternoon will hold a tasting of chestnuts, roasted pineapples and typical sweets in the Plaza of the Senior Center.

 

 

Once again, the Canary Islands once again value its cultural wealth through the celebration of the Finaos, a historical festival that, as part of the Canarian culture, must continue to be transmitted in the future from the oldest to the youngest.