Interview [Issue 17] How Halloween is Celebrated Around the World

[Vikingsrallentando 3,058]

Many countries around the world celebrate "Halloween" and in many different ways; or in different holidays that are similar. Today we are going to ask tankmen/tankwomen to give us their description of the famous holiday.
 
Those that were chosen to represent their country were asked the following questions: What is it called in your Country? When and how long is it celebrated/observed? How is it observed? Why is it celebrated/observed? Do you personally observe the holiday?
 
First we will start off with the two countries where Halloween really thrives:
 
representing Canada:
   Here in Canada, Halloween is celebrated on the night of October 31, usually starting from dusk and ending at 8:00 PM in the city I live in.  Many children, and many teenagers as well, take part in "trick-or-treating", which is going from door to door to collect candy.  Trick-or-treaters usually dress up, sometimes as monsters, ghosts, superheroes, or even animals.  There isn't only trick-or-treating though.  Many people decorate for Halloween, including carving pumpkins into "jack-o'-lanterns", as well as seating fake skeletons into chairs.  Many people have parties as well.  At parties, people will dress up, and "bob for apples".  People who don't prefer trick-or-treating, partying, or any major celebrations, usually stay home and watch horror movies.
   In Canada, Halloween was inspired by the original belief that on October 31, evil spirits would arrive to bring harm to humans.  So, people believed that dressing up would scare away the evil spirits.  Eventually, people found out that this was not true, but still liked the idea of dressing up.  Halloween wasn't popular in Canada until the mass transatlantic immigration that happened in the 19th century, which brought the popularity of Halloween to Canada, and the rest of North America.  Personally, I love Halloween.  Every year, I take part in trick-or-treating, and I always dress up.  This year, I will be dressing up as the Grim Reaper.  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and always will be.
 
@lizerdgirl108 representing United States:
Us Americans call Halloween....well.... Halloween... nothing special to it. It's celebrated on the 31st of October and it's celebrated in so many different ways. All during the month of October decorations are around towns or in people's houses or yards and during the week there are parties and corn mazes and pumpkin carvings and other cool events. During the day of Halloween everyone dresses up in costumes and it's really fun. Kids go trick-or-treating and get loads of candy from houses... adults will go to parties.... some stay at home and watch movies and pig out on discount candy at the grocery stores (I TOTALLY don't do that). And all this is really just for pure fun.... I've celebrated it since I was a kid... getting all kinds of tastes. Handing out candy, getting my own candy, participating in parades, going to parties, dressing up in some pretty awesome costumes. It's just loads of fun ^_^
 
And now, other countries in other continents.
 
@Ilia.ArchangeI representing Bosnia:

Well, since this holiday isn't local, its name is similar to that of the original English name - Halloween. Unfortunately when it is said with a Slavic accent, it sounds closer to "Hawluhveen". Halloween is celebrated on the 31st of October, just like most other places. Since locally Halloween has no cultural background, here it could be described as a big masquerade party, with special attention given to spooky and creepy characters/beings. Nearly every club and cafe in town has a special Halloween Party, though the bigger and more famous ones have the most prestigious parties. People gather, show of their costumes, and even win prizes if their costume is outstanding or well executed. Other than that it's no different from a regular Friday night. 
Like many EE countries, Bosnia is eager to become modernized and "Europeanized", so holidays such as this one have slowly crept in. It's definitely not part of the culture, and stands out like a sore thumb. But I guess we young people are the same the world over, regardless of our cultural history, and we love to have fun in any shape or form. I'm not one for clubbing, but I love to hang out with friends, so I don a moderately creative costume, if any, and go have a good laugh :)
 
representing Brazil:
In my country Halloween is called "Dia das Bruxas" (day of the witches). It's celebrated on the 31st of October and on that day alone. It recently came to Brazil through the American culture influence of media etc. Brazilians in general do not agree though to this holiday because it goes against their culture (the majority of the population is Christian). For such, the government has created in 2005 a new celebration, "Dia do Saci" (day of the Saci) a traditional folklore in Brazil also celebrated on the 31st of October. The main reason for its celebration is simply due to a one more reason to party and it's mostly celebrated in schools where English is taught. I personally don't celebrate this holiday because I'm a Christian.
 
@gocac representing Croatia:

In Croatia this day is called Svi Sveti/All Saints Day. It's a national holiday. It's celebrated 2 days, on 1st and 2nd of November. 2nd November is called Dušni Dan/Day of the Souls or something like that It's a day when you need to remember all of the saints that were in the past of the Church and your ancestors that are buried on cemeteries. It's celebrated by visiting graves on graveyard with a Holy Mass that wants to give you strength to live your life as a good Christian that wants to go on the footsteps of your ancestors. I do celebrate this day because I'm proud with the past of my family.
Thank you.
 
@Invincible321 representing England:
In my country which is England the Halloween celebration is called Halloween.Halloween over here is celebrated on the 31st of October only which is one day. I believe it's observed by people going around  in the night to different houses in Halloween costumes and scary masks doing trick or treating. This means they will ask the people living at the house for treats like candy or if they are not given a treat they may do something bad as a trick.
I believe Halloween is celebrated just for fun to scare other people and is not a celebration of any religion. I personally don't observe Halloween but I like to watch scary movies which usually come on around Halloween time.
 
representing Germany:
Yes, I'm representing Germany :) In Germany we call it "Halloween" too. We celebrate it from 31. October to  1. November. Some Germans hollow out pumpkins and give them a creepy grimace, to illuminate them with a candle. Also the tradition of "Trick or Treat" is very popular in Germany. On the 1. November we celebrate the All Saints Day and the 31 October is known as the "All Hallows Eve". No, I don't observe it, not anymore. I think I'm a bit to old for it. :)
 
representing Ireland:
In Ireland it's called Halloween or Oíche Shamhna in Irish. It starts on the 31st of October at about 20:00. People like lighting up fireworks and bonfires at this day. This is probably the most busiest day for the Ambulance and Fire departments as so many people get hurt during bonfires and fireworks. Most kids dress up as something "Scary" and go around the neighborhood collecting sweets that they gather from people. Although I noticed some people are either too greedy to give sweets to the kids or do not celebrate the day, so they simply put all the light off so the kids know that "they are not home" (The houses that give you sweets are the ones decorated with "Scary" objects). My house is usually close to the fireworks so I find no reason whatsoever to go out into that cold so I just look out the window (It's more safe too!)
 
representing Italy:
In my country we call this "celebration" Halloween, like in the U.S.A. It usually takes one day (the 31st of October). On 31st of October people usually go out in the evening with some realistic and beautiful masks and with horror make-up to frighten other guys. Other more usually go to some houses and they say: "trick or treat?".  I don't know really, but I think that this is a derivation from the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic cultures. When I was younger I used to go out with friends and asks to people "Trick or Trift?", but now I'm not doing it anymore. I think that this year will be different by the others, I'll may go out to do this again.
 
@DanTheKiller1 representing Romania:
In our country there is no such thing as Halloween,but we have something similar,an holiday called Sânziene (couldn`t find the translation)...It is celebrated around June and it`s not happening in the whole country,only in a region named Oltenia..It lasts for 1-2 days...I don`t exactly know how it is,but as far as I know girls are wearing very beautiful white dresses and boys are wearing some wolf fur made clothes...It`s celebrated to avoid the bad spirits...In the capital of Romania,teens are actually celebrating Halloween by wearing different costumes and walking on the street in big groups...Personally I don`t observe this holiday because I can`t enjoy it
 
@toomai51 representing Scotland:
In Scotland it's known as Halloween and takes place on 31st October,usually once it gets dark people usually change into some fancy dress/costume
mostly with a horror/spooky theme and thereafter visit people in the neighborhood. They are known as 'guisers' [ disguise] and will perform some songs/jokes in exchange for sweets/fruits/nuts.This is usually carried out by children but adults do take part and the fancy dress can be very gory and realistic. Halloween parties are usually held in schools and I remember one party game still observed to this day -' dookin' for apples ' which consisted  of apples in a bucket of water,using no hands and only with a fork held between teeth you had to catch an apple ! This will last all evening and you will see adults late at night still in fancy dress making their way home from a party dressed as gorillas,nuns or Dracula

 
@ErzaScarlet0323 representing Singapore:
It is called Halloween by most people. Actually Singapore is multi-racial(Many races live here) so to some people, they call all saints day,etc Here we don't really celebrate it, we don't go trick or treating or anything. There are just some tourist attractions setting up horror stuff. Examples:
1) Some malls decorate with creepy stuff and hold activities related to Halloween (like monster makeover contests)
2)Tourist attractions do seasonal things like haunted houses(example: Scary activities at Universal studios Singapore [Like I'd go there, too scary]
There is actually no duration, since we don't really celebrate it. Why, actually it's like the when question, we don't celebrate it
NOTE: In Singapore, this is what majority of the people do. HOWEVER, some races living in Singapore may have their own traditions,like the Filipinos
 
representing Slovakia:
In my country, Slovakia, this day (1/11) is called All Saint Day (if you want, in Slovakian it's Deň všetkých svätých), whole day we go to the cemetery and we light a candle on the graves of our loved ones. This day was commanded by the church as a memorial to all the honest people and in this day (particularly) older people go to church to pray for all dead people. Personally, I was young for know why is this important, I don't go to church, but I go to cemetery and remember my dead family, but.. this year it will be harder for me, because my mum died this Monday when she was 41 years old...
 
 

If I missed your country, I sincerely apologize. I tried contact people from every country I knew of that celebrated the Holiday. If your country was left out, please answer the questions in a comment so that others can see what it is like in your neck of the woods. :D 
 
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy Halloween or observe All Saint Day. And enjoy the Halloween sale too, of course!
 

Edited July 31, 2017 by Vikingsrallentando

[Raphael2 3,263]

Nice signature Viking!

[Remaine 4,687]

I hate to admit it but great job.

Edited November 1, 2013 by Remaine

[GoldRock 6,165]

^:lol:

 

Good work, an interesting read and a relevant subject, too.

[Play 1]

why didnt ask any israeli? :(

anyway... good job :)

[Valletta 834]

Good one indeed! I'm glad we have an informative article for Halloween :)

[GWLGUPTA 511]

My country,india is missed but in india halloween is not celebrated.

But  nice to know how is halloween celebrated in different countries. :)

[Xerothermic 44]

^ :lol:

y u lagh at my post

[GoldRock 6,165]

I hate to admit it but great job.

That's why :p

Edited November 2, 2013 by GoldRock

[Xerothermic 44]

That's why :P

y u laugh at me saying I hate to admit it?

[KunGawuliak 191]

Thank you for ask me :) Good job vikingsrall and asked players too :) Happy Halloween! ^_^

[GoldRock 6,165]

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkvjU57-BB0

 

 

:lol:

Edited November 2, 2013 by GoldRock

[aojsd 144]

^:lol:

[Bakker-NL 1]

Really intresting to know how other countries celebrate halloween! You know a lot people out a lot countries btw :o. Great article!

 

B-NL

[Moraine 5,877]

I lived in the UK for 2 years... well, in Scotland to be exact... They also celebrate Samhain (or in Scotish Gaelic Samhainn), which is a precursor of Halloween, and has pre-Christian roots. It is celebrated from sunset on 31 October to sunset on 1 November. Special bonfires were lit - these were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers and there were rituals involving them. Samhain was seen as a time when the spirits or fairies could more easily come into our world. Offerings of food and drink were left for them. The souls of the dead were also thought to revisit their homes. Feasts were had, at which the souls of dead kin were beckoned to attend and a place set at the table for them. Mumming and guising were part of the festival, and involved people going door-to-door in costume (or in disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food. Divination rituals were also a big part of the festival and often involved nuts and apples.

On Orkney islands, lanterns are carved from turnips and great care is taken to avoid the influences of the dead. The lanterns, referred to as "Neepy Lanterns", are carried from house to house where each householder gives the bearer "a penny for the lantern".

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain

[Vikingsrallentando 3,058]

Very interesting, Ostrica. Thank you for sharing. :)

 

If anyone else has something to add to or correct one of the descriptions in the article, please do (kindly)!

[canadarules 1,938]

Nice signature viking

[Lazy.B0Y 1,000]

Good job, but lacks representatives from Portugal! 

;)

[r_JCar0 289]

Good job, but lacks representatives from Portugal! 

;)

I could have represented Portugal too since I'm also Portuguese. But I chose to represent my country of birth, Brazil.

[Who_Boss 154]

I wanted to represent Bangladesh but sadly couldn't ... :(

[MisterGeneral 692]

Awesome article, thanks viking, really good job! 

Edited November 25, 2013 by MisterGeneral

[High 773]

Great work! And also a great job @Invincible321 I believe you summed up England's Halloween very well! Let me just add. Its always raining!