Boo 🙂 Halloween is true across the nook, so it’s time for costumes, sweet, and spooky celebrations. However do you know that many cultures worldwide have their very own variations of Halloween with distinctive traditions? Let’s take a look at a few of these fascinating holidays much like Halloween in several nations.
This text covers worldwide Halloween-like celebrations and traditions from around the globe! A few of the Halloween-esque holidays throughout the globe could also be acquainted to you, however there will certainly be some stunning festivals, traditions, and holidays.
As a word, earlier than diving into comparable holidays to Halloween in several nations, I’ll say, from the start, that increasingly nations are celebrating Halloween. Some took solely the business half – trick or treating, costume events and so on. -, however they nonetheless have Halloween gala’s and occasions.
This text presents native Halloween-like traditions and occasions – and you will note (like I did), that there are lots of elements of the world that honor ancestors, that there are lots of holidays when individuals assume that the veil between the world of the residing and the world of the lifeless may be very skinny on someday/night time of the yr, and that there are lots of holidays when individuals disguise themselves by means of costumes from evil spirits and lit bonfires to maintain them at bay.
Included on this information to the World Festivals Like Halloween are:
- Samhain – Eire and Scotland
- Sfântul Andrei (Saint Andrew’s Day) – Romania and different nations
- Día de los Muertos – Mexico and Spain
- Obon Pageant – Japan
- Hungry Ghost Pageant – China, Singapore, and Malaysia
- Toussaint – All Saints Day in France
- Zaduski – All Souls’ Day – Poland
- Pangangaluluwa and “Day of the Useless” (Araw ng mga Patay) – Philippines
- Gai Jatra – Nepal
- Dia de las Brujas – Venezuela
- Pchum Ben – Cambodia
- Pitru Paksha – India
- Conclusion
Samhain – Eire and Scotland
Let’s kick issues off within the Celtic heartlands of Eire and Scotland. If you happen to’re within the temper for a Halloween celebration with deep historic roots, then Samhain is your ticket.
It falls on October thirty first, marking the top of the harvest season and the start of the darkish half of the yr.
You may expertise the traditional Celtic traditions of lighting bonfires, carving turnips (the unique Jack-o’-lanterns), and dressing in elaborate costumes to push back evil spirits. In Eire, Derry hosts the “Banks of the Foyle Halloween Carnival,” a week-long competition that includes parades, fireworks, and haunted homes.
They are saying that that is “Europe’s Largest Halloween Pageant” [1] – so in case you are within the space, be sure you don’t miss it! 4 nights celebrating Halloween.
Sfântul Andrei (Saint Andrew’s Day) – Romania (and another Christian Orthodox nations)
Subsequent on this record of Halloween-like holidays is one from my very own nation, Romania. Belief me after I say Romanians don’t often affiliate this with Halloween, however bear with me as I present you what number of resemblances exist.
Sfantul Andrei is well known on November 30 and has each non secular and folks significance. From a non secular standpoint, Sfantul Andrei is a vacation that commemorates the Apostle Andrew, who’s believed to have launched Christianity to the area. Particular church providers and processions could also be held in honor of the saint (there’s a Church in Constanta the place it’s mentioned that he has been.)
From the opposite standpoint, it’s believed that on this night time, spirits can come to earth and animals can speak like people. With the intention to safeguard homes from evil spirits, there are totally different traditions – like utilizing garlic on doorways.
It’s also believed that the longer term (a few of its facets) might be found on this night time: unwedded younger girls can see the one they’re meant to be with, one can uncover if they are going to have a fortunate interval, and so forth (I gained’t go into all of the traditions and superstitions).
Día de los Muertos – Mexico and Spain
Whereas Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Useless, isn’t precisely Halloween, it shares an analogous time-frame and has a celebratory however spooky vibe that you simply and I can embrace. The festivities sometimes happen from October thirty first to November 2nd.
This “Day of the Useless” vacation originated with indigenous Aztec rituals honoring the lifeless. Right this moment, it’s a energetic celebration to recollect handed family members by means of parades, music, meals, and embellished altars.
Households create ofrendas (choices) on gravestones or altars to welcome spirits dwelling. These embody the deceased’s favourite meals, drinks, images, and mementos from their life. Marigold flowers generally known as cempasúchil are in every single place throughout Día de Muertos for his or her shiny coloration and scent believed to draw souls.
The festivities additionally contain costumes, dancing, and particular baked items like sugar skulls/calaveras and pan de muerto bread. If you happen to occur to be in Mexico throughout this time, locations like Mixquicnear Mexico Metropolis maintain huge Día de Muertos celebrations with cultural experiences for guests. Don’t miss an opportunity to honor the lifeless amongst wild revelry and remembrance! [2]
Obon Pageant – Japan
In Japan, the competition of Bon or Obon in mid-August pays homage to ancestral spirits. This Buddhist customized has developed right into a household reunion celebrating the souls of those that have handed. Folks return to their hometowns, clear household graves, and put together meals choices at altars to ask their ancestors’ presence.
Certainly one of Bon’s most well-known traditions is the Toro Nagashi ceremony, the place lanterns are floated down rivers to information spirits again to the afterlife. Of us additionally do Bon Odori dances, sporting yukata robes and masks at native temples.
The streets are full of distributors promoting competition snacks like candied apples, cotton sweet, and rice muffins.
Throughout this reflective but festive season, I like to recommend becoming a member of in on the communal dancing and floating lanterns beneath the moonlight. It’s a transferring expertise honoring these we love however see not. [3]
Hungry Ghost Pageant – China, Singapore and Malaysia
One other vacation honoring the lifeless is the one held in China. Because the earlier talked about Japanese vacation, this too is well known in the summertime (August).
So, if you end up in China across the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month (often in August), you may partake within the Hungry Ghost Pageant. This spooky vacation is all about appeasing stressed spirits.
Particular traditions are stored to our days – the meals must be cooked thrice that day, and within the night there are images set on a desk and incense burning. Meals is placed on plates – and supplied to the spirits.
The vacation is noticed in different elements as properly, together with Singapore and Malaysia. [4]
Toussaint – All Saints Day in France
The lifeless are celebrated in France too. And it’s round Halloween. French individuals commemorate the lifeless in Autumn on the first of November. The date is a public vacation.
Folks go to the cemeteries, put flowers on the graves, and lit candles. [5]
Zaduski – All Souls’ Day – Poland
If you happen to’re in Poland on November 1st, you may interact within the distinctive mix of Halloween-like traditions and the deep cultural significance of All Saints’ Day.
Be a part of the locals in visiting cemeteries adorned with candles and beautiful flower preparations. It’s believed that the veil between the residing and the lifeless is thinnest on at the present time, permitting for a little bit of supernatural interplay. [6]
Pangangaluluwa and “Day of the Useless” (Araw ng mga Patay) – Philippines
The Philippines has two consecutive holidays which can be excellent for this record of worldwide Halloween-like celebrations.
Pangangaluluwa is a convention the place individuals go to homes at night time to sing songs and get items (particularly in rural areas.) It’s celebrated on October thirty first, the day earlier than the “Day of the Useless” (Araw ng mga Patay), also called All Saints’ Day. [7]
Gai Jatra – Nepal
Gai Jatra, typically known as the “Cow Pageant,” is well known in Nepal, notably within the Kathmandu Valley, in August or September. The competition commemorates just lately handed family members and helps households come to phrases with their loss.
Through the celebration, you and I can witness colourful processions that includes individuals dressed up in varied costumes, and even cows adorned with decorations. This isn’t a latest celebration, because it’s roots go means again to the seventeenth century. [8]
Dia de las Brujas – Venezuela
Dia de las Brujas, or Day of the Witches, is a Venezuelan custom celebrated on November 1st, which coincides with All Saints’ Day. At the present time honors deceased family members and, curiously, witches.
Households collect in cemeteries, cleansing and adorning graves, and generally setting a spot on the desk for spirits. [9]
Youngsters go from home to accommodate asking for sweets – sounds acquainted? 🙂
Pchum Ben – Cambodia
In Cambodia, the 15-day Pchum Ben competition occurs in September/October as a time to pay respects to the lifeless. Pchum Ben interprets to “gathering collectively” in Khmer, emphasizing the collective ritual.
For a lot of Cambodian Buddhists, it’s essential to honor ancestors throughout Pchum Ben so their spirits could also be at peace. Monks chant prayers as individuals go away choices of meals, flowers, and cash at temples for the ghosts of the deceased. The important thing occasion is the Dak Ben ceremony, the place crowds launch floating lanterns on waterways and throw rice as “ghost meals” to appease any offended or hungry spirits.
Villagers additionally put together elaborate feasts to share advantage with the souls of seven generations of ancestors. If you happen to go to Cambodia within the fall, absorbing the solemn environment at temples and making an providing your self allows you to witness this distinctive ancestral custom. Simply remind stressed ghosts to move on peacefully after their transient time amongst household as soon as extra! [10]
Pitru Paksha – India
India’s Pitru Paksha takes place for 16 days in September/October as a solution to pay homage to ancestors. In Hinduism and different Indian religions, Pitru Paksha is when the gates of heaven open for ghosts. Souls can then enter the world of the residing.
Households go away choices of meals and sprinkle water to fulfill and bless spirits. One customized is to put kheer (candy rice pudding) on roofs to appease ghosts as crows eat it. Shraadh rituals contain making meals choices, chanting mantras, and donating objects in ancestors’ names. Some areas even host big feasts the place clergymen and the poor eat meals devoted to the lifeless. [11]
Conclusion
In conclusion, as we’ve journeyed by means of the varied and enchanting world of Halloween-like celebrations, it turns into clear that the spirit of spookiness and the reverence for the supernatural should not confined to a single vacation or a selected area.
If you happen to put aside the business half, you simply discover that individuals from everywhere in the world (totally different cultures, and continents) honor the lifeless and think about that there’s a time frame when the veil between the world of the residing and the world of the lifeless is at his thinnest.
Totally different (and quite comparable) traditions attempt to solid away evil spirits whereas additionally letting the beloved ones be remembered and honored (once more, by means of comparable traditions resembling going to the cemetery, adorning the graves, meals choices, and so on.)
Throughout the globe, individuals come collectively to honor their ancestors, have fun the altering seasons, and discover the mysterious and the unknown.
Whereas the specifics of those celebrations could differ, there’s a widespread thread that unites all of them – the will to attach with the previous, embrace the mysteries of life and dying, and foster a way of group and togetherness.
So, the subsequent time you end up in a brand new place on this planet, don’t hesitate to hitch within the festivities, gentle a candle, put on a dressing up, and let your self be enchanted by the worldwide Halloween-like celebrations.
Glad travels, and should your journeys be full of pleasant spookiness and cultural richness!
Info sources:
[1] https://derryhalloween.com/
[2] https://www.historical past.com/subjects/halloween/day-of-the-dead
[3] https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2286.html
[4] https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/hungry-ghost-festival.htm and https://www.visitsingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/cultural-festivals/hungry-ghost-festival/ and https://mypenang.gov.my/culture-heritage/my-stories/46/?lg=en
[5] https://www.accentfrancais.com/weblog/al-saints-day
[6] https://tradition.pl/en/article/all-souls-day-the-tradition-of-zaduszki-in-poland
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangangaluluwa
[8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gai_Jatra
[9] https://www.wradio.com.co/2023/10/27/origenes-de-halloween-la-historia-detras-del-dia-de-las-brujas/
[10] https://www.tourismcambodia.com/tripplanner/events-in-cambodia/pchum-ben.htm
[11] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/faith/rituals-puja/pitru-paksha-2023-dates-rituals-and-significance-of-shraddh-paksha/articleshow/103924694.cms
