Halloween around the world: How do other countries celebrate?
Halloween Around the World
Halloween, celebrated every year on October 31st, is a popular holiday in many countries. While the origins of Halloween can be traced back to ancient Celtic harvest festivals, its modern-day celebrations have evolved differently around the world. Let’s take a look at how other countries celebrate Halloween.
United States:
In the United States, Halloween is a festive and widely celebrated holiday. Children usually dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, and collect candies from neighbors. Many people decorate their homes with spooky decorations and carve pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns. Haunted houses, costume parties, and Halloween parades are also common during this time.
Canada:
Similar to the United States, Halloween in Canada involves trick-or-treating, costume parties, and haunted houses. Children and adults dress up in costumes while going door to door asking for treats. However, Canadians also have additional traditions such as bobbing for apples and playing a game called “Trick or Treat” where participants choose between a trick or a treat.
Mexico:
In Mexico, they celebrate a holiday called the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) from October 31st to November 2nd. This holiday is a time to honor and remember deceased loved ones. Families create colorful altars, called ofrendas, in their homes or at cemeteries. They decorate the altars with marigold flowers, candles, photographs, and the favorite foods and belongings of the deceased. Calacas and calaveras (skeletons and skulls) are also prominent symbols of this celebration.
Ireland:
Ireland, believed to be the birthplace of Halloween, celebrates the holiday with enthusiasm. Halloween, called Samhain, was originally a pagan festival marking the end of the harvest season. Bonfires were lit to ward off evil spirits, and people wore costumes to blend in with the supernatural beings they believed roamed the Earth that night. Today, Ireland embraces Halloween with events like fireworks displays, costume parties, and storytelling sessions about ancient Irish folklore.
China:
In China, Halloween is not widely celebrated, but a similar festival called the Hungry Ghost Festival (Yu Lan Jie) is observed. The festival takes place on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, typically in August. During this time, it is believed that the gates of the afterlife open, allowing spirits to roam the world of the living. The Chinese make offerings of food and burn paper replicas of money and belongings to provide for their ancestors in the afterlife. They also perform traditional dances and set off firecrackers to ward off evil spirits.
In Summary
Halloween is celebrated in various ways around the world. Whether it’s trick-or-treating in the United States and Canada, honoring deceased loved ones during the Day of the Dead in Mexico, embracing ancient Irish traditions in Ireland, or observing the Hungry Ghost Festival in China, each country adds its own unique touch to the Halloween celebrations. So, as Halloween approaches, remember that this spooky holiday brings joy and traditions to people of different cultures worldwide.
