How is Halloween celebrated in other countries?

Question

Anyone from another country can reply....thank you!

Answer 1

Well, in Mexico, we do the Dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead), which is like American's Halloween, but we do not dress up to scare, we celebrate the spirits of our ancesters rising from the dead! We make altars for them, and usually go to there grave.

Answer 2

I'm Welsh

In Wales and England we don't do much for Halloween really. There is a Welsh name for Halloween and a "supposed" traditional ceremony but I don't know the name of it or know anyone who celebrates it.

As a kid we used to dress up and hollow out Swedes (not pumpkins) and go "Guising" (same as trick or treat) or have Halloween parties with bobbing apples, food, telling ghost stories and stuff.

Because of the American influence it has got more popular in recent years, there are plenty of Halloween parties in pubs, clubs etc, people use pumpkins not swedes and the shops sell loads of Halloween costumes and stuff. but thats due to American inflluence really and the fact that the shops have seen that they can make money out of it.

The traditional Welsh and English celebrations of Halloween have been somewhat forgotten over the years - it varies from place to place though, some parts of the country still have their traditional ceremonies (especially rural areas) but I don't know anything about the traditional Welsh ceremony for Halloween or whatever it is in Welsh. Its mostly just an American inspired thing these days.

Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire night is November 5th and not linked to Halloween - its supposed to celebrate the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot in the 17th century where a group of disaffected Catholics tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London. they were caught and executed. It is celebrated in Wales and England, although I don't think they do it in Scotland. People build bonfires and burn effigies of Guy Fawkes (Known as "The Guy") and let off fireworks.

Actually, rather than the effigies being of Guy Fawkes, many people today dress their "Guys" up as Tony Blair, Osama Bin Laden, George Bush or whatever present day "bogeyman" they want to burn! LOL!

In the week or so before Bonfire night we would sit outside shops and on the street with our "Guy" and beg "penny for the Guy" from people passing - a great old tradition and a good way to get money to buy fireworks and sweets, although lots of snobby stupid parents banned their kids from doing it because they said it was "begging" (its just an old custom actually).

Bonfire Night is not a political thing anymore though as it once may have been 100s of years ago and its not about being "anti Catholic" or any such crap (my local Catholic church does the best bonfire and firework display!). Its just a chance to get out into the cold autumn air with your family and mates, eat toffee apples and baked potatoes and enjoy the fireworks! Magical!! The streets are full of smoke on 5th November, along with the crisp coldness in the air. The kids love it. And so do the adults. I'm probably banned from going to a firework display this year though as I'll be 36 weeks spregnant and my BF is scared it'll send me into labour!

And after that there comes Christmas (no "Thanksgiving" in the UK, thats American only.)

Answer 3

I am from Germany, and we don't really celebrate Halloween in Germany. The most celebratory thing I ever did for Halloween in Germany was get a greeting card. However, in German, they do have a Carnival around Lent, where people dress up and go to parades in the streets, and the people that are parading throw candy to everyone. (Much fun!!!)

Answer 4

I have just today returned from Spain (Alicante) and the shops there are full of the usual stuff. Though slightly less of the scary aspect. more jolly.
Though when I was a child it was not usual. I cannot really recall when the 'celebration' started!
It all seems rather much of a money spinner to me. I certainly don't think of it as a tradition

Answer 5

No one has mentioned November 4th - mischievious night when it is accepted children will do their utmost to upset cantankerous people with things like knocking on doors and runninig away, or my favourite sadly not possible in these days of plastic rainpipes was the bull roar. You lightly stuffed paper up a cast iron downpipe and set it on fire, the noise it makes would put the frightners on the people living in the house..... happy days.
I once received a beautiful shiner from a man with no sense of humour when he caught me hiding behind his hedge...............

Answer 6

In Canada, we do it the same as the USA, dress up go trick or treating door to door, when your young. When your older (over 18) you get dressed up and go to Halloween parties, and get ripped out of you head, have best costume competions, bob for beers, etc, it's one of the best nights of the year.

Answer 7

Around The World

Halloween, one of the world's oldest holidays, is still celebrated today in several countries around the globe.

The autumn rite is commemorated in the United Kingdom, although with a surprising and distinctive British twist. In Mexico, Latin America, and Spain, All Souls' Day, the third day of the three-day Hallowmas observance, is the most important part of the celebration for many people. In Ireland and Canada, Halloween, which was once a frightening and superstitious time of year, is celebrated much as it is here in the United States, with trick-or-treating, costume parties, and fun for all ages.

El Dia De Los Muertos

In Mexico, Latin America, and Spain, All Souls' Day, which takes place on November 2, is commemorated with a three-day celebration that begins on the evening of October 31. The celebration is designed to honor the dead who, it is believed, return to their earthly homes on Halloween. Many families construct an altar to the dead in their homes to honor deceased relatives and decorate it with candy, flowers, photographs, samples of the deceased's favorite foods and drinks, and fresh water. Often, a wash basin and towel are left out so that the spirit can wash before indulging in the feast.

Candles and incense are burned to help the deceased find the way home. Relatives also tidy the gravesites of their departed family members. This can include snipping weeds, making repairs, and painting. The grave is then decorated with flowers, wreaths, or paper streamers. On November 2, relatives gather at the gravesite to picnic and reminisce. Some gatherings even include tequila and a mariachi band! Celebrations honoring departed loved ones and family members are found as far back as ancient Egyptian times.

Guy Fawkes Day

On the evening of November 5, bonfires are lit throughout England. Effigies are burned and fireworks are set off. Although it falls around the same time and has some similar traditions, this celebration has little to do with Halloween or the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The English, for the most part, stopped celebrating Halloween as Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation began to spread. As followers of the new religion did not believe in saints, they had no reason to celebrate the eve of All Saints' Day. However, a new autumn ritual did emerge. Guy Fawkes Day festivities were designed to commemorate the execution of a notorious English traitor, Guy Fawkes.

On November 5, 1606, Fawkes was executed after being convicted of attempting to blow up England's parliament building. Fawkes was a member of a Catholic group who wanted to remove the Protestant King James from power. The original Guy Fawkes Day was celebrated right after his execution. The first bonfires, which were called "bone fires," were set up to burn effigies and symbolic "bones" of the Catholic pope. It was not until two centuries later that effigies of the pope were replaced with those of Guy Fawkes. In addition to making effigies to be burned in the fires, children in some parts of England also walk the streets carrying an effigy or "guy" and ask for "a penny for the guy," although they keep the money for themselves. This is as close to the American practice of "trick-or-treating" as can be found in England today. Guy Fawkes Day was even celebrated by the pilgrims at the first settlement at Plymouth. However, as the young nation began to develop its own history, Guy Fawkes was celebrated less frequently and eventually died out.

Where It All Began

In Ireland, where Halloween originated, the day is still celebrated much as it is in the United States. In rural areas, bonfires are lit as they were in the days of the Celts, and all over the country, children get dressed up in costumes and spend the evening "trick-or-treating" in their neighborhoods. After trick-or-treating, most people attend parties with neighbors and friends. At the parties, many games are played, including "snap-apple," a game in which an apple on a string is tied to a doorframe or tree and players attempt to bite the hanging apple. In addition to bobbing for apples, parents often arrange treasure hunts, with candy or pastries as the "treasure." The Irish also play a card game where cards are laid face down on a table with candy or coins underneath them. When a child chooses a card, he receives whatever prize is found below it.

A traditional food eaten on Halloween is barnbrack, a kind of fruitcake that can be bought in stores or baked at home. A muslin-wrapped treat is baked inside the cake that, it is said, can foretell the eater's future. If a ring is found, it means that the person will soon be wed; a piece of straw means that a prosperous year is on its way. Children are also known to play tricks on their neighbors, such as "knock-a-dolly," a prank in which children knock on the doors of their neighbors, but run away before the door is opened.

Answer 8

this is derived from Western eu customs, and replaced into spread by technique of them, so it has a tendency to be a lot less easy as that effect is dwindled. Cultures autonomous of such effect lack the vacation thoroughly.

Answer 9

in scotland we celebrate our 'celtic new year' or 'samhain' by getting dressed up and going out 'guising' carrying carved 'neep' lanterns. this involves going round doors in the community for treats in return for not casting evil spells.

pretty much the basis for the amercan 'trick or treat' but we have been doing it for at least a thousand years or more.

Answer 10

Kids here in Britain use it as a cover to rob people, you cant really tell the police you was mugged by Dracula can you