On Wednesday it’s Halloween again. No doubt many of you have celebrated this weekend, and those of you living in Catholic cantons (Kantone) and federal states (Bundesländer) can expect to have November 1st, All Saints’ Day (Allerheiligen) off. So there are a few things that I must tell you. Though Halloween is not completely foreign (fremd) in the German speaking countries, it’s not as popular as in North America or other English speaking countries. That said, here is some important German Halloween vocabulary.
| English | Deutsch |
| apple | der Apfel, die Äpfel |
| All Saints Day | Allerheiligen |
| jack-o’lantern, literally hallowed-out pumpkin | ausgehöhlter Kürbis, ausgehöhlte Kürbisse |
| hard candy | der Bonbon, die Bonbons |
| demon | der Dämon, die Dämonen |
| to decorate / decorated | dekorieren / dekoriert |
| to light up | erleuchten |
| to scare / to frighten | erschrecken |
| face / mask / ugly face / ugly pose | die Fratze, die Fratzen |
| party where people where masks | das Fratzen-Fest |
| someone who makes funny/scary/weird faces | der Fratzenmacher, die Fratzenmacher / die Fratzenmacherin, die Fratzenmacherinnen |
| to cut a face in a pumpkin | eine Fratze schneiden |
| to make a face | eine Fratze ziehen |
| cemetary / graveyard | der Friedhof, die Friedhöfe |
| ghost / spirits | der Geist, die Geister |
| ghost story | die Geistergeschichte, die Geistergeschichten / die Gespenstergeschichte |
| ghost / specter / phantom | das Gespenst, die Gespenster |
| the witching hour | die Gespensterstunde |
| spooky | gespentisch / spukhaft |
| grave / tomb | das Grab, die Gräber |
| gravestone / tombstone | der Grabstein, die Grabsteine |
| horror | Grusel- (for use in compounds) / der Horror |
| horror tales | das Gruselmärchen, die Gruselmärchen |
| horror movie | der Gruselfilm, die Gruselfilme / der Horrorfilm, die Horrorfilme |
| horror-like, monstrous | gruselig |
| celebrate Halloween | Halloween feiern |
| heathen, non-Christian | heidnisch |
| witch | die Hexe, die Hexen |
| horror scene | die Horrorszene, die Horrorszenen |
| candle | die Kerze, die Kerzen |
| costume | das Kostüm, die Kostüme |
| costume party | das Kostümfest, die Kostümfeste / die Kostümparty, die Kostümpartys |
| pumpkin / gourd | der Kürbis, die Kürbisse |
| pumpkin head | der Kürbis-Kopf, die Kürbis-Köpfe |
| lantern procession | der Laternenzug, die Lanternenzüge |
| mask | die Maske, die Masken |
| monster costume | das Monsterkostüm, die Monsterkostüme |
| spooky / hair-raising | schaurig |
| soul | die Seele, die Seelen |
| skeleton | das Skelett, die Skelette |
| spider | die Spinne, die Spinnen |
| spiderweb | das Spinngewebe / die Spinnwebe |
| spook | der Spuk, die Spuke |
| to haunt | spuken |
| The place (house) is haunted. | Es spukt (im Haus). |
| hobgoblin | der Spukgeist, die Spukgeister |
| prank / trick | der Streich, die Streiche |
| Trick or treat! | Süsses oder Saueres! / Streich oder Süssigkeit! |
| to play a (nasty) trick/prank on somone | jemandem einen bösen Streich spielen |
| candy / sweets | die Süssigkeit, die Süssigkeiten / die Süsswaren / das Schleckzeug, die Schleckzeuge |
| devil | der Teufel, die Teufel |
| the dead (pl.) | die Toten |
| vampire | der Vampir, die Vampire / die Vampirin, die Vampirinnen |
| to dress up in costume | sich verkleiden |
| werewolf | der Werwolf, die Werwölfe |
Vocabulary Notes
I’ve color-coded the above vocabulary to make it easier to learn. This is a good way to learn genders. Also note that I have included some collocations and the plural forms of the nouns. When you’re learning your nouns (Substantive / Nomen) it is always good to learn the plurals, as there are 7 standard ways to make nouns plural in German. Also note that with compound words, we make them plural by pluralizing the last word in the compound
z.B.
Building a compound noun in German (singular):
- das Kostüm + die Party = die Kostümparty
Plurals:
- die Kostüme, die Partys
but we only use the plural of the last word, therefore:
- das Kostüm + die Partys = die Kostümpartys
Halloween or Karneval
As I stated above, Halloween is not as established in the German-speaking countries. Halloween makes for interesting parties and many bars and clubs are profiting from people’s desires to dress up, go out, and have a good time. However, traditionally the dressing up is done during Karneval (Fastnacht, Fasnacht, Fasching, die fünfte Jahreszeit), which takes place between February 4th and March 10th depending on when Easter occurs.
All Saints’ Day
November 1st is an important holiday in the Catholic areas. On this day all of the saints (Heiligen) and those who have yet be be canonized (heiliggesprochen) are remembered and paid respect.
Martinstag
November 11th is also a feast day in memory of St. Martin. In German it’s called Martinstag and/or Martini. In many ways it is akin to Thanksgiving. In some regions of Germany, the traditional sweet of Martinstag is Martinshörnchen, a pastry shaped in the form of a croissant, which recalls both the hooves of St. Martin’s horse and, by being the half of a pretzel, the parting of his mantle. In parts of western Germany these pastries are shaped like gingerbread men. Another widespread custom in Germany is bonfires on St. Martin’s eve, called Martinsfeuer. There is generally a lantern processions (Laternenzüge) that accompanies those fires. In Berlin, on Martinstag, it is customary to cook and eat a Martin Goose (Martinsgans), which is usually served in restaurants roasted along with red cabbage and dumplings. It also marks the first day of Karneval and is a huge celebration in Cologne as the preparations for the full Karneval celebrations in February start.
Practice
I’ve made flashcards for the vocabulary above. You’ll find it here.
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