October is the month when we start to prepare for the winters while we recall the summer. October is also the month when many winter festivals are celebrated around the world. But for most of us it is the month we associate with Halloween. Originally, Halloween was a festival celebrated in Western countries, but today it is observed in its own way in every country. The festival is marked by unique decorations, a spooky atmosphere and disguises of ghosts and scary creatures to costume parties, this festival has its own unique peculiarity. Today we will give you an insight into the history of Halloween and how it is celebrated differently in different parts of the world.
It is assumed that the origins of Halloween come from the pagan customs and Celtic traditions of the Feast of Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest season and the preparation for the arrival of the winters. Traditionally, Halloween was observed as a 3-day festival to commemorate the dead, martyrs and saints. The festival takes place on October 31st each year. The Celts believed that the 31st of October marked the official beginning of the winter season and that the arrival of cold, dark winters would also signify that the world was taken over by dark powers and evil spirits, for a community living in a time when modern ideas of logic and reasoning had not yet found their way, such ideas gave the community a sense of security, and the Celts believed that in these times of cold and darkness, the physical limitations of the living and the dead diminished, and that other creatures of the other world entered the living worlds to seek temporary refuge. Thus, these ancient groups built huge bonfires and disguised themselves as ghosts and spirits to keep creatures from the other world away or at least to appease them.
With the conquest of the Celtic regions by the Romans during 43 A.D. and the reign they held for the next 400 years, the feast of Samhain became mixed with the Roman feast of Feralia, where the Romans commemorated the martyrs. In the years when Christianity took over in most parts of the western world, Halloween was transformed into All Saints' Day and was merged with Christianity sanctioned by the Church as an annual festival. Eventually Halloween came to America, but the traditions of European and American Halloween varied widely. Americanized Halloween involved people gathering in communities or neighbourhoods to celebrate the annual harvest and share folklore and chilling stories with each other. But in the 19th century, the United States welcomed many Irish immigrants who brought with them the Celtic traditions of Halloween. Thus, costumes and bonfires, as well as American ways, blended together to form a famous American Halloween.
The custom of the "Trick-or-Treat" where children and even adults sometimes go door to door and ask for food and drinks has long been associated with Halloween. Although mainly American or Canadian, the Trick-or-Treat custom has been much perpetuated by the media and television but it is something we cannot avoid. The origins of this custom are very unclear. Some have argued that in Celtic traditions, women dressed in scary costumes and went to people's homes to ask for food in order to appease the otherworldly beings. And over time, this way of dressing up as ghosts and scary creatures became more and more popular, with people wearing more fancy costumes and turning the whole custom into a joyful celebration. In the second half of the 19th century, Hollywood made a film that transformed the culture of Halloween pranks and treats, giving Halloween a more festive or party-like feel. Greatly Americanized, the Trick-or-Treat is now an integral part of Halloween celebrations.
Halloween is celebrated in most parts of the world, but with different names and customs, what makes it common is the underlying factor that the day or days are celebrated to commemorate the deceased.
In Spain and Mexico, the Día de Muertos, is celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of November, where people dress up as dead or ghosts and make offerings to their ancestors. In China and Honk Kong, there is a 30-day festival called "The Hungry Ghost Festival", where parades and processions are organised to entertain the dead. In Haiti, the Fed Gede is celebrated, where people make a parade to the graves of their ancestors while drinking chilli-infused rum along the way. In South Korea, they have their own traditional Thanksgiving festival called "Chuseok", where families celebrate together to pay tribute to their ancestors. In Italy it is "Tutti I Morti" where people carve pumpkins which symbolise the heads of the dead, the festival is more of a religious affair where people honour the memory of their ancestors.
In Poland, the festival of Zaduszki is celebrated where all those who have lost someone light a lantern and candles on their grave. In Japan, the Obon festival, which lasts for three days and during which people pay homage to their ancestors, is also a time of pilgrimage. Pchum Ben in Cambodia, is a 15-day religious festival which honours the ancestors of the Cambodians. In Nigeria, the Awaru Odu festival is a 15-day festival where people celebrate the return of their deceased family and friends to the living world. On 1st and 2nd November, in all Catholic countries of the world, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day are celebrated, where the deceased are commemorated.
