Halloween Around the World

Halloween celebrations are just around the corner, and regardless of whether you have a costume or not, the weekend will be spooktacular. The United States won't be alone in their fall festivities. Many countries and cultures have special traditions and celebrations tied to the last day in October. Here are a few of the various ways Halloween is celebrated around the world. First, a little history lesson. Halloween, originally known as All Hallows Eve or Hallowe'en, began as a preparation for All Saint's Day, a Catholic holiday celebrated on November 1st. Participants would dress up in scary costumes to frighten away evil spirits the night before celebrating the life and death of saints. Originally, All Saints Day was a spring holiday. However, Pope Gregory IV moved the date to October 31st to combat the pagan holiday of Samhain. The date stuck and Halloween has marked the end of October ever since. Long before the church played calendar games, however, the Celts celebrated their own fall holiday, Oíche Shamhna. This celebration marked the end of harvest and the transition from the light to the dark half of the year. During this time, it was believed that the separation between this world and the underworld was very thin. Celts lit bonfires and lanterns to ward away the evil spirits. Though today, Oiche Shamhna has been modernized to Halloween, many Irish and Scottish families continue to practice the old traditions. Carving turnips, beets, or the occasional pumpkin, and lighting them with candle to ward off Stingy Jack, a wandering spirit that was too mean for Heaven, continues to be a favorite tradition; hence the name, Jack-o-lantern. A variety of other European nations have diverse Halloween traditions as well. In Sweden, the celebration of Alla Helgons Dag lasts 7 days. In Austria, bread, water and lit lamps are left on the kitchen table in an effort to encourage spirits to return home. In Germany, families hide their knives so that evil spirits can't hurt them. In Czechoslavkia, chairs are placed near the fireplace for each deceased family member. In Belgium, black cats are thought to be extremely bad luck and candles are lit for the dead, while in Russia, cats are thought of as extremely good luck, especially the Russian Blue, Burmese, and British Blue. The Spanish eat Bones of the Holy, which are small anise seed and orange glazed pastries in the shape of skulls. Italians set their tables with a bountiful display including Fave dei morti cookies, or "Bones of the Dead", and the house is left open while everyone goes to church to pray for the deceased. Other non-European traditions are also celebrated around the time of Halloween. In Mexico and most of South America, Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated. During this festival, families bring food and decorations to their deceased relatives in the cemetery and feast in honor of their memory. In Japan, the Obon Festival is celebrated by crafting little paper lantern boats and letting them set sail at night. In India, Mahalaya, a religious ritual believed to awaken dead spirits so they can rest peacefully for the rest of the year, is a popular tradition during which celebrants ask for protection against evil spirits. In Korea, the celebration of Chusok is a time to thank ancestors for a successful harvest by making offering of rice and fruits at their graves. With so many traditions to consider, there is no good reason not to celebrate fall. Whether you're the culturally adventurous type, or the sit at home and devour a bag of clearance candy type, there are plenty of valid excuses to have a good time, just be careful! You never know what kinds of ghosts or ghouls might be lurking!