As Halloween approaches, I wondered how Halloween is celebrated around the world beyond the United States. Kimi's Travel Thoughts is a travel and culture blog. One thing I know for sure is that people in the U.S. will travel to locations such as Disney World or Salem, Massachusetts to celebrate Halloween in addition to the typical neighborhood-based trick-or-treating and similar activities. What do people in other countries do to celebrate Halloween ? I decided to do some research online to find the answer and share my findings with you!
Halloween History
According to History.com, what we know today has Halloween has its origins in an ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. This means Halloween evolved from what was originally a pagan holiday -- as many holidays originate from.
Fast forward to the 18th century and Southern colonies along the North American coast celebrated the harvest around October 31-November 1 with stories, songs, and dances. Not too different from a modern Halloween party, right? As more people (particularly Irish immigrants) arrived in what eventually became the United States, Halloween quickly grew and, over the hundreds of years, transformed into the Halloween known in the U.S. today.
So what about countries that aren't the United States? Here's a brief summary of my findings for a few countries:
Ireland
Ireland is literally the home of Halloween! The holiday's origins date back to pagan Ireland. Halloween is supposed to be the day when "veil" is at its thinnest between the other world and our world. Remember how the big issue in the first two Halloweentown movies was the portal only being open until midnight on Halloween? It's kind of like that.
Across Ireland, there will be a variety of small and large scale festivals to celebrate Halloween. Some of the larger festivals are so popular that they are known globally. If you're a hardcore Halloween fan, a trip to Ireland might be on your bucket list! Irish households, in addition to trick or treating, will also bake barmbrack and bob for apples when celebrating at home with family and friends.
Japan
Halloween is a relatively new holiday to celebrate in Japan. Apparently the holiday really kicked off in the early 2000s after Tokyo Disneyland began hosting Halloween events. Even though an American company was a catalyst for the holiday's growth in Japan, it's not the exact version of Halloween that is celebrated across the United States. Activities like trick or treating aren't a big deal there. However, carving pumpkins has become an increasingly popular activity and Japan has street parties which are similar to festivals.
Can you guess the most popular Halloween activity in Japan? It's costumes! Japan is the hub for anime and manga culture, so it's no surprise that a holiday like Halloween, which presents an opportunity to get dressed up in costumes, has become so popular. If you or people you know enjoy going all out for their Halloween costumes or enjoy doing cosplay, maybe a Halloween trip to Japan could be in your future travel plans.
Norway
Similar to Japan, Halloween started to grow in popularity in Norway in the early 2000s. However, there isn't a Disneyland location in Norway. So, what sparked the holiday's popularity in this country? Pop culture was the catalyst here -- particularly movies and television shows! Due to this, Norway's version of Halloween is more reflective (on a lower scale) of how the United States typically celebrates the autumn holiday. Like the U.S., house parties in Norway are part of Halloween culture along with trick or treating and scary movies.
Conclusion
Outside of Ireland, Halloween seems to be much more of a "western culture" holiday. The holiday continues to grow in popularity across the globe, but there are some religious conflicts that come up in countries such as Brazil and Germany. That being said, Halloween is celebrated around the world and is adapted to work for each culture that participates. Hopefully this short blog post serves as a gateway for you to continue learning more about how countries other than your own celebrate Halloween or other holidays!
Feel free to leave comments below, tweet/post (@KimiThoughts), or leave a post/message on Facebook (@KimisTravelThoughts) and share how you celebrate Halloween!