Happy Halloween! How did Halloween originate and what are Halloween traditions around the world?

Tonight, on the "scariest" day of the year, people all around the world are celebrating Halloween, dressing up in different costumes, carving pumpkins and going trick or treating.

But where did those traditions actually come from, and how do people in different countries celebrate it?

Halloween actually originated from a celtic tradition.

On the 31st of October, their calendric year endet, the summer was over, crops were harvested and everybody was preparing for the cold and dark months of the winter.
The Celts believed that the dead were able to visit the living on this day, and also that druids had good chances of forecasting the future on this last day of the year.

That’s why the celts were celebrating the „Samhain“ Celebration on October 31st.

It was a holiday where the celts tried to comfort the dead with sacrificial offerings like animals, vegetables and fruits so that the dead wouldn’t hurt or kill them.
The also created huge bonfires and danced around them wearing leather, fur and animal masks.
Over time, these traditions merged with the Catholic all hallows (All Saint’s Day), another holiday to honor the dead.
The name „Halloween“ originated from „All Hallows Eve“, the evening before the 31st, and „Hallowmas“ the name for the 3 days of holiday (day before all hallows, all hallows and all soul’s day).

And where did the typical Halloween Traditions come from?

Pumpkins:

The Jack O’ Lantern has its traditions in an Irish folktale.
The Legend goes that a man called jack trapped the devil inside a treetop by carving a cross into the trunk. He only released him when the devil promised not to take his soul and not to bother him anymore.
When Jack died, he was denied access to heaven because God didn’t like how he tricked the devil and how he lived his life in general.
The devil also denied him access to hell because Jack had previously made a fool out of him.
So Jack had to stay in the darkness of the in-between world, and his only light was a candle inside a a turnip to shield it from the wind.
Later, the traditions switched from beets and large potatoes to hollowed-out pumpkins.

Costumes:

Like mentioned above, the celts used to dance around the bonfires with masks and animal fur.
The celts believed that the dead were trying to possess the humans, so they wore masks to hide their identity.

Trick or Treat:

The tradition of Trick or Treating probably comes from All Soul’s Day in England.
The poor used to beg for food on that day, and promised to pray for the dead of the family in return.
Over time, children of all social classes were starting to walk around and ask for cake or candy.

How is Halloween or the honoring of the dead celebrated around the world?

We all know how Halloween is celebrated in the United States - with trick or treating, costumes, halloween parties, pumpkin carving etc.
But how are other parts of the world celebrating the dead?

Europe

While modern Europe has mostly adopted the American traditions, there used to be some old traditions as well.
For most Europeans, all hallows (All Saint’s Day) used to be an important holiday of the catholic church, where the dead were mourned and honored.
So the day before all hallows, halloween, was often spent by fasting and preparing for the next day.
England has its own tradition: On November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire Night) bonfires are lit everywhere and fireworks go off.
Guy Fawkes was a man who was sent by the catholics to destroy the protestant parliament around 1600.

Latin America

In Latin America, they don’t actually celebrate Halloween but El Dia de los Muertos - the day of the dead on November 2.
Many families put up altars in their home which they decorate with candy and flowers, and where they pray. Some also visit the graves of passed family members and clean up or beautify the grave.
A popular tradition is a performance of people dressing up in vivid colors, putting make-up on their faces to represent colorful skeletons and then singing and dancing to honor and mourn the dead.

Asia

Asians have their own traditions of honoring the dead. They vary greatly in form and in dates from country to country, but ‚Halloween‘ itself wasn’t very popular in Asia until the 1990’s.
But in recent years, popularity has grown and many parts of Asia, especially Japan and Hong Kong are now celebrating Halloween in a western style with costume parties and trick or treating.

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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