Although most Americans spend Halloween at festive costume parties or trick-or-treating with family, other countries have their own rituals and customs. Here are 12 Halloween (and Halloween-like) traditions from around the world.
1. DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS // MEXICO
From November 1 to November 2, people celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) to honor the dead throughout Mexico and parts of Latin America. It is believed that the Gates of Heaven open up at midnight on October 31 and the souls of children return to Earth to be reunited with their families for 24 hours. On November 2, the souls of adults come down from Heaven to join in the festivities.
The holiday is celebrated with in-home altars full of fruit, peanuts, turkey, soda, hot chocolate, water, and stacks of tortillas and special holiday bread called pan de muerto (bread of the dead), which are left as offerings for weary ghosts. For the souls of children, families leave out toys and candies, while adult souls receive cigarettes and shots of mezcal.
2. KAWASAKI HALLOWEEN PARADE // JAPAN
At the end of every October for the past 20 years, almost 4,000 costumed Halloween enthusiasts from all around the world gather just outside Tokyo in Kawasaki for the Kawasaki Halloween Parade, which is the biggest such parade in Japan. However, not everyone can simply join in the festivities. The Kawasaki Halloween Parade has strict guidelines and standards, so you have to apply for entry two months before the parade begins. There’s also a Kawasaki Halloween Children’s Parade for kids under 6 years old that takes place a day before.
In addition, the Japanese also celebrate O-bon, a yearly Buddhist holiday that honors the spirits of a family’s ancestors. In some traditions, lanterns are hung in front of homes and temples to guide the spirits inside, as traditional dances are performed. Families also visit graves and offer food and treats to the dead.
3. PANGANGALULUWA // THE PHILIPPINES
Pangangaluluwa is a tradition in the Philippines where children go door to door, often in costumes. However, instead of saying “trick or treat,” the children ask for alms and prayers for those stuck in purgatory. This tradition has increasingly been supplanted by trick-or-treating, but some towns are reviving it as a local fundraiser.
4. DAY OF DRACULA // ROMANIA
People from all around the world flock to celebrate Halloween at Vlad “The Impaler” Tepes’s purported home at Bran Castle in Transylvania, Romania (although it was never actually his castle, and there’s debate if he ever even visited the site). There are a number of guides and inclusive travel packages in Romania that offer tours and parties at Count Dracula’s castle for Halloween.
5. SAMHAIN // IRELAND
Ireland is considered the birthplace of modern Halloween with its origins stemming from ancient Celtic and Pagan rituals and a festival called Samhain (end of the light half of the year) that took place thousands of years ago. Modern Irish celebrate Halloween with bonfires, games, and traditional Irish foods like barmbrack, an Irish fruitcake that contains coins, buttons, and rings for fortunetelling. For example, rings mean marriage, while coins mean wealth in the upcoming year.
6. ALL SAINTS’ DAY & ALL SOULS’ DAY // GERMANY
On November 1, Germans (and many other Catholics from around the world) celebrate All Saints’ Day (followed by All Souls’ Day on November 2). It’s an annual time to honor the lives of the saints who died for their Catholic beliefs, as well as the souls of dead family members. In observance of the holiday, people go to mass and visit the graves of their loved ones.
In addition, many Germans hide their kitchen knives, so returning spirits wouldn’t be accidentally harmed or use them to harm the living.
7. ZHONG YUAN JIE // SINGAPORE
During Zhong Yuan Jie, it is believed the Gates of Hell are opened and all Hell-beings are set free to roam the Earth. To honor the spirits, people take to the streets to burn joss sticks and paper money as offerings to their ancestors. Chinese opera is also offered up and performed to “empty” audiences to show respect to ghosts. During this time, many people avoid weddings, moving into new homes, and starting businesses as other ways to honor the spirits.
8. FESTIVAL OF HUNGRY GHOSTS // HONG KONG
On the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, which is around mid-August to mid-September, the people of Hong Kong celebrate the Festival of Hungry Ghosts. It is believed around this time, restless spirits roam around the world, so several parts of East Asia appease and “feed” their ancestors’ ghosts with food and money for the afterlife. It’s part of a larger month-long celebration that also features burning paper, food offerings, and giving out free rice for the neighborhood.
9. PITRU PAKSHA // INDIA
For 16 days during the second Paksha of the Hindu lunar month of Bhadrapada, many people celebrate Pitru Paksha throughout India. Hindus believe when a person dies, the Hindu god of death, Yama, takes their souls to Purgatory, which also contains the last three generations of a family. During Pitru Paksha, the souls are released to be with their families on Earth before returning to Purgatory.
Families must perform the ritual of Shraddha to ensure their family’s place in the afterlife. If Shraddha isn’t performed, the soul wanders around the Earth for eternity. During Pitru Paksha, families offer the dead food, such as kheer (sweet rice and milk), lapsi (a sweet porridge), rice, lentils, spring beans, and pumpkins, which are cooked in silver or copper pots and served on banana leaves.
10. DZIEŃ ZADUSZNY // POLAND
On November 1-2, most people across Poland travel to graveyards to visit their dead family members. Dzień Zaduszny (or Zaduszki) is All Souls’ Day for Catholics in the country. The holiday is celebrated with candles, flowers, and an offering of prayers for departed relatives. On the second day, people attend a requiem mass for the souls of the dead.
11. AWURU ODO FESTIVAL // NIGERIA
The Awuru Odo Festival marks the return of dead friends and family back to the living. Lasting up to six months, the holiday is celebrated with a feast, music, and masks before the dead return to the spirit world. Although the Awuru Odo Festival is an important ritual, it happens once every two years when it is believed the spirits will return to Earth.
12. P’CHUM BEN // CAMBODIA
From the end of September to the middle of October, Buddhist families gather together to celebrate P’chum Ben, a religious holiday to honor and remember the dead. People give foods like sweet sticky rice and beans wrapped in banana leaves, and visit temples to offer up baskets of flowers as a way to pay respect to their deceased ancestors. It’s also a time for people to celebrate the elderly.
October 31, 2016 – 10:00am