The hours that transpire between October 31st and November 2nd involve some of the most culturally fascinating rituals in the world. The popular (and commercial) success of Halloween and all its devilish fun and mischief has eclipsed many of the traditional celebrations surrounding All Saints, which is why I'd like to start this post with a little taste of local customs.

Tots Sants and La Castanyada

In Catalunya, the highlight of All Saints (Tots Sants) is La Castanyada or the Day of the Chestnut. You might have noticed the stalls popping up around town selling roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts in a newspaper cone. On All Saints, Catalan families get together and eat roasted chestnuts, panellets (tiny sweets covered in pinenuts), sweet potatoes and candied fruit. The beverage of choice is moscatel, a sweet wine with a beautiful golden colour.

Tradition calls for a visit to the cemetery to honor the dead and all of the saints, both known and unknown. What do delicious sweet things have to do with honouring the dead? According to folklore, a lot. These high energy treats were eaten by family members to stay awake during the all night vigil for the dead preceding All Saints as well as by bell ringers to stay on their feet and sound bells for the deceased til dawn. Nowadays, many people no longer observe the religious aspect of All Saints and La Castanyada has morphed into a kind of autumn/harvest celebration.

Photo: Halloween Pumpkins - Boston Terrier, Sugar Skull by lili.chin

Every September, Barcelona invites residents and visitors alike to participate in an exuberant display of civic pride. Fours days of traditional customs, art, popular culture, music and lots of fun in what is without a doubt the city's most beloved festival: La Mercè.

La Mercè is Barcelona's Fiesta Mayor. During the year, every city neighbourhood celebrates a fiesta mayor (of which the Fiestas de Gràcia and the Fiestas de Sants are the most popular), but La Mercè is the queen of them all, the biggest and most extravagant, because it is a festival representing the entire city. La Mercè honours the city's patron saint, La Virgen de la Mercè, on September 24. But over the years, the festival, which extends beyond the actual holiday, has shed most of its religious connotations to become a truly popular event celebrating local traditions and culture, creative expression and civic pride with activities and events for all ages.

For many, the Festival Grec, also known as the Barcelona Festival, constitutes the cultural highlight of the summer. Six weeks of theatre, dance, music, circus and cultural events for all tastes and ages. Traditional and avantgarde projects by internationally renowned artists and the finest local talent. Some events are free, others quite pricey, most fall somewhere in between. In short, the festival truly has something for everyone. And given the length and volume of this list of somethings, I'll share my top picks. There's a whole lot more going on though, so after reading this post, I suggest you check out the festival's website or pick up a printed programme at Palau de la Virreina or other cultural institutions around the city.

This year's edition opens with a little festival within the festival, a night of visually stunning, acrobatic magic 30 metres above ground and two concerts. The opening event is free and aims to underscore the Grec's desire to be a cultural event that involves the whole city and is embraced by the local population. In other words, a true Barcelona festival. The inaugural festivities on June 30 feature the Belgian group Theater Tol and their aerial theatre performance Pedalejant cap al cel (Cycling in the Sky) as well as concerts by Canteca de Macao with their fusion of Mediterranean and Latin influences, and La Troba Kung-Fu who blend rumba, rock, dub and cumbia.

If you arrive in Barcelona in August, you'll hear the city buzzing with excitement over the Fiestas de Gràcia. If you've never experienced this exuberant fiesta, you might be wondering what the big deal is. What are these Fiestas de Gràcia?

They are the week-long fiesta mayor of the Gràcia neighbourhood.

Okay, so what is a fiesta mayor?

Basically, a local celebration (held in villages, towns, districts...) involving lots of traditional customs and popular culture, filtered through the particular nature of the place putting on the party. Gràcia is a unique neighbourhood with a singular look and personality. Originally, it was a village in its own right, located up the hill from Old Town Barcelona. Eventually, the neighbourhood got swallowed by the expanding city, but it never lost its own identity.

In the 21st century, this identity is marked by two dominant facets: Catalan (and Gràcia) pride and socially conscious hipsterdom. A Fiesta Mayor being a reflection of a neighbourhood's personality, in Gràcia you get traditional customs like the Castellers (human castle builders) or Correfoc (an astounding, fiery street parade of devils and dragons) alongside workshops to combat homophobia, wine tastings, African dance performances and recycling games.

In Catalan, cruïlla means crossroads, and the name is a fitting description for this festival in which different musical genres from all over the world come together. It also reflects the fusion spirit of the festival, which has always had a soft spot for artists who mix styles, cultural influences and sounds in new and surprising ways.

What began five years ago as a low-key event with a line-up of local bands has grown into the city's third biggest music festival after Sónar and Primavera Sound. These days, Cruïlla BCN takes place at the Forum and has people like Iggy & the Stooges, Gogol Bordello, Cypress Hill and M.I.A. as headlining acts. The festival might have entered the international stratosphere, but it stays true to its socially conscious, multicultural and eclectic roots, reflected in the line-up and the decision to partner up with Amnesty International.

Primavera Sound is the rockin' kick-off to the summer festival season, turning the Parc del Forum into an enormous playground for music lovers. Stripped bare, the Parc del Forum looks a bit like an abandoned set for a 60s sci-fi movie, but it makes for a surprisingly good festival venue. Lots of space, fresh air, urban concrete and great views of the sea. When I saw Black Mountain play a few years back, the setting sun turning the sea golden, reeds swaying in the wind, the place even took on a dreamy, summery vibe. Goes to show that it's really the music that makes the setting and Primavera Sound has plenty to offer in that regard.