Carved pumpkins, apple bobbing, Jack-o-lanterns and witches hats: Halloween is among us. However, despite the growing Western influence and heavy commercialization of this holiday, different cultures still have their own traditions and ways of celebrating All Hallows’ Eve, devoted to remembering the dead. HCX investigates some of the remaining similar festivals around the world.
‘Yue Lan’, Festival of the Hungry Ghosts
Hong Kong, China and Singapore are among the countries that celebrate this Ghost Festival where it is believed that the ‘Gates of Hell’ open for spirits to return to earth. Although this is a fairly universal concept, it is also customary to present gifts to the spirits to comfort and ward them off. Around ‘Yue Lan’ Chinese Opera and live music are common.
‘Dia de Finados’, Day of the Dead People
Brazil celebrates this ‘Day of the Dead People’ the day after All Saints Day and largely opposes the American traditions of Halloween on 31st October, seen as a ‘cultural imposition’. In resistance, the government has proposed this day as ‘Saci’s Day’, belonging to one of the most renowned characters of Brazilian folklore.
‘Samhain’, The Summer’s Night
Celebrated to mark the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, this medieval Irish festival marks the origin of our modern adaptation of ‘All Hallow’s Eve’. Bonfires are lit throughout the Gaelic world in order for rituals to be carried out: people and their livestock often walk between two bonfires as a cleaning ritual and throw the bones of slaughtered livestock into the flames. Empty places are set at big feasts to welcome the souls of the dead and divination too is a practice seen during Samhain. If you are in Ireland for Halloween, be sure to head to the walled city of Derry, home to one of the biggest Irish Halloween parties.
Dracula
The site of many witch trials and supposedly the spirit of Dracula, Romania commemorates Halloween by reenacting these stories. The biggest Halloween party takes place in Sighisoara, the citadel in Transylvania where Dracula was born. Surely Halloween in Transylvania should be on every bucket list?
Other worldwide Halloween events to tick off include Salem’s ‘Festival of the Dead’ and Witches’ Ball (Massachusetts, USA), Village Halloween Parade (NYC, USA), Silom Soi Street Party (Bangkok, Thailand), ‘Noć vještica’ or ‘The Night of Witches’ (Bosnia and Herzegivina) and the previously mentioned Halloween carnival in Derry (Ireland).
Photo Credits: Pinterest