Halloween is one of the oldest and most popular festivals. Its’ exact origins are unknown, but it is thought to have begun in Ireland around 2,000 years ago. The Celtic festival of Samhain, which the Christian church changed into All Saints Day in the 8th century, was celebrated on November, and it was believed that on the night before Samhain the dead returned as ghosts. People placed food and wine on their doorsteps to keep the roaming spirits at bay, and wore masks when they left the house to be mistaken as fellow ghosts.
We tend to associate Halloween with trick-or-treating, apple bobbing and eating lots of sweets – practices that, although Western, have spread more globally – but how do people in other countries celebrate traditionally?
In Austria, it is traditional to leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before retiring on Halloween night, so as to welcome the dead souls back to earth.
Chairs were placed by the fireside on Halloween night — one chair for each living family member and one for each family member’s spirit.
Between 31st October and 8th November, it is traditional to hide all knives, to prevent returning spirits from injuring themselves.
Many Italian families make bean-shaped caked called Beans of the Dead. In southern Italy, families prepare a feast for the departed relatives, then go to church, leaving their homes open so spirits can feast.
Among Spanish-speaking nations, Halloween is known as “El Dia de los Muertos.” It’s more All Souls Day than Halloween, but is celebrated from 31st October. The celebration offers a chance to remember the deceased in a joyful way – tell their stories and celebrate their lives. Family feasts, skull-shaped sweets, tequila, dancing and mariachi music, as well as parades of people dressed as skeletons, all ensure that ancestors are well remembered.
Although Western practices like dressing up and trick or treating are becoming popular in Japan, their Festival of the Dead – also known as The Festival of Lanterns or Obon – is actually held in August. It is a “homecoming” of sorts, where it is traditionally believed that the spirits of ancestors visit living relatives. Many Japanese prepare special meals as offerings and hang lanterns in front of homes to guide the spirits.
Like Japan, nowadays western-style Halloween celebrations are practiced by some, but their equivalent is “Teng Chieh” or the Feast of the Hungry Ghosts. Lanterns and bonfires are lit to guide spirits back to Earth, and water and food are placed before portraits of dead relatives. In Hong Kong, this is known as “Yue Lan” and it is believed that spirits roam the world for twenty-four hours. Some people burn pictures of fruit or money, believing these images will reach the spirit world and bring comfort to the ghosts.
Do you know of any other Halloween traditions from around the world? Let us know at Kings Tutors.
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