Halloween Celebration Around the World
Halloween, one of the oldest festivals in the world, is celebrated with pomp and vigor not only in North America but all over the world in countries as distinct and diverse as China and Austria. The spirit of Halloween however remains the same whether celebrated in Europe, Latin America or Asia. Harmful spirits are warded off and those of ancestors are invited to the house. Faces carved out of pumpkins, costume parties and Halloween dinners form an integral part of the Halloween celebrations in all corners of the globe.
Halloween Celebration in Various Countries
People keep bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before they go to bed on Halloween night. These things are believed to welcome the dead souls back on earth.
In Canada
Canadians carve Jack O'Lanterns on Halloween. Parties, trick-or-treating and decorating of homes with pumpkins and corn stalks are associated with the Halloween celebration in Canada.
Teng Chieh is what Halloween is known as in China. The Chinese place food and water in front of deceased family member’s photographs on this day. Bonfires and lanterns are also lit in order to light the paths of the spirits as they travel the earth on this night.
Halloween celebrations in England took a backseat during Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation. However nowadays, Halloween is celebrated much the same way as in other places like the United States with trick or treating and costume parties forming a major part of the Halloween celebration.
The German’s have a unique practice to celebrate Halloween. They put away their knives this night to ensure that the returning spirits are not harmed by the knives.
Halloween or Yue Lan (Festival of the Hungry Ghosts) as it is known as in Hong Kong is a day when spirits are believed to roam the earth for 24 hours. Pictures of fruits and money are burned on this day as this is believed to bring comfort to the ghosts.
Believed to be the place of origin of Halloween, the Irish still follow this festival very religiously. A very popular Irish dish on Halloween is the traditional barnbrack without which the Halloween celebration in Ireland is deemed incomplete.
Chusok is a Korean festival similar to Halloween. On this day, people visit the tombs of their ancestors with offerings of rice and fruits to thank them for the fruits of their labor.
Halloween is a joyous and happy time to remember family and friends who have died. A three-day celebration which begins on the evening of October 31, it is meant to honor the dead who are believed to return to their homes on Halloween.