Halloween and a declining Christian tradition coexist on All Saints' Day in Spain

MADRID (AP) — Skeletons, ghosts, and monsters of all kinds took to the streets of many cities in Spain at nightfall to celebrate Halloween. The next morning, an older generation flocked to the country’s cemeteries to remember their dead.

The sobriety of the Catholic tradition, by which on All Saints' Day graves are cleaned and flowers are brought to cemeteries to spend time with deceased loved ones, has given way in recent years to sweets, fake blood, and spider webs from one of the most iconic holidays in the United States.

As in many other parts of the world, instead of their own ancestral traditions, younger people have embraced the more commercial side of a celebration that originated from the pagan festival of Samhain, which honored the end of summer and the harvest. And it does not appear that they will follow in the footsteps of their elders.

The cultural change did not happen overnight, but is a consequence of the secularization of societies, explained José Bobadilla, a sociologist specialized in culture and religious diversity.

“Obviously, the process of a new, more Americanized culture has had an influence not only in Europe,” said Bobadilla, who noted that the current celebration, which is spreading throughout the world, “downplays the idea that it is a time to remember those who are no longer with us.”

The Almudena cemetery in Madrid, the largest in Spain with some five million people buried there, began receiving its first visitors early in the morning.

At the main entrance, several flower stalls waited with bouquets ready for those who left the arrangement of the graves to the last minute.

“We always come on (Nov) 1st,” said Alicia Sánchez, a 69-year-old retiree who lamented the loss of tradition due to a lack of interest among younger people.

“I don’t like Halloween because it’s not our holiday. But everyone has their traditions, and that should be respected,” she said.

Paz Sánchez visited her husband's grave with his son, as they do on many other days. This time, however, they were surprised to see so few people despite it being the busiest day of the year.

“Maybe they don’t feel like getting up early to come to the cemetery,” said Sánchez, 87.

A few hours earlier, as in the last decade, Paracuellos de Jarama, a town about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) northeast of Madrid, dressed up for Halloween.

It started with just a few neighbors, but now dozens of houses are decorated with pumpkins and ghosts, there is a haunted passageway, and hundreds of people roam the streets trick-or-treating.

Miguel Izquierdo transformed his family home into a pirate ship with recycled wood for the hull and an old sheet as a sail. The lights, music, and 30 kilos (66 pounds) of candy, which ran out in less than two hours, made it one of the most popular.

After three years, they continue to participate “because of how much fun the children have,” said Izquierdo, 42, who runs an audiovisual production company. “We like it because it’s a party, because it’s a costume party, and because there’s candy.”

“I don’t dislike the party, but I think it’s not part of our traditions,” said Antonia Martín, 68, who celebrated Halloween – without costume – for the first time for her grandchildren.

People place flowers on a grave during All Saints' Day, a Catholic holiday to honor saints and remember deceased relatives, at a municipal cemetery in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A man places flowers on a grave on All Saints' Day, a Catholic holiday to honor saints and remember deceased relatives, at a municipal cemetery in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A woman cleans a grave on All Saints' Day, a Catholic holiday to reflect on the saints and deceased relatives, at the municipal cemetery in Campo Real, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People dressed in scary costumes take part in a Halloween celebration in Paracuellos del Jarama, Spain, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

People dressed in scary costumes take part in a Halloween celebration that gives sweets to children in Paracuellos del Jarama, Spain, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein ’s rape retrial ended in a mistrial Friday after the jury deadlocked.

While the former Hollywood mogul has been convicted of other sex crimes on two U.S. coasts and remains behind bars, the mistrial leaves the New York rape charge in limbo after three trials.

A majority-male Manhattan jury had been weighing whether Weinstein raped Jessica Mann, a hairstylist and actor, in 2013. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the encounter was consensual. It happened during a fraught relationship between the then-married Weinstein and the decades-younger Mann.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors said they were at loggerheads Friday in Harvey Weinstein 's rape retrial, but a judge told the panel to keep trying for a verdict in the closely watched #MeToo-era case that another jury failed to decide last year.

The signs of stalemate emerged a few hours into the third day of deliberations. Jurors sent a note saying they “have concluded that they cannot reach” a unanimous verdict. Judge Curtis Farber instructed the group to continue deliberating. That's generally what New York judges do at least the first time a jury says it's stuck.

Jurors then returned to their closed-door discussions. They're tasked with deciding whether Weinstein — the former movie mogul who became a symbol of the #MeToo movement's campaign against sexual misconduct — raped hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013.

An appeals court overturned his 2020 New York conviction on charges that involved Mann and another accuser. At a retrial last year, jury deliberations broke down amid infighting on Mann’s portion of the case, leading to this current retrial. Weinstein is charged with one count of rape in the third degree.

Mann, 40, has testified that she willingly had some sexual interludes with the then-married producer, but that he subjected her to unwanted sex that day after she repeatedly said no.

Weinstein's lawyers maintain that the encounter was consensual. They have emphasized that Mann subsequently continued seeing Weinstein and expressing warmth toward him. Mann has said she was mired in complicated feelings about him, herself and what had happened.

Her viewpoint changed in 2017, when a series of allegations against the Oscar-winning Weinstein propelled #MeToo. Some of those accusations generated criminal convictions against Weinstein in New York and California.

Weinstein, 74, has said he “acted wrongly” but never assaulted anyone.

The current jury heard nearly three weeks of testimony, five days of it from Mann. Weinstein did not testify.

The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted. Mann, however, has agreed to be named.

Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan criminal court on Friday, May 15, 2026, in New York. (Steven Hirsch /New York Post via AP, Pool)

Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan criminal court on Friday, May 15, 2026, in New York. (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP, Pool)

Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan criminal court on Friday, May 15, 2026, in New York. (Steven Hirsch /New York Post via AP, Pool)

Harvey Weinstein appears with attorney Marc Agnifilo in Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in New York. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)

Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in New York. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)

Harvey Weinstein appears with attorneys Marc Agnifilo, left, and Jacob Kaplan in Manhattan criminal court, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in New York. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo via AP)