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Festivals for the Dead: Halloween Around the World

21st October 2016 Posted by: Francesca Turauskis

AMERICA is commonly seen as the home of Halloween, and it certainly celebrates in style – but many other cultures around the world celebrate this time of year with ancient and elaborate festivals devoted to the dead. The pre-Christian holiday of Samhain was seen as a time the ‘otherworld’ of the dead was very close. Meanwhile, in Catholic tradition, All Hallow’s Eve acts as an evening of reflection, and All Soul’s day is given to honouring family and friends who have died. And on Dia de Muertos, the dead dance in the streets of Mexico.

Whilst there are many different forms of festivities, one thing all these holidays have in common is that they honour a time of year the dead come visiting…

Halloween in America

Halloween in America is a time to be scared, and it is a huge commercial success: homes and offices are dressed with decorations, haunted houses charge to scare people and the holiday is responsible for the largest sweets sales of any American holiday. Hundreds of films and TV shows have been made about the holiday, and it has made the American traditions very familiar around the world. Children dress in costumes and go ‘trick-or-treating’ to ask their neighbours for treats. They give the children sweets, or risk being the victim of Halloween tricks – such as having eggs thrown at their house!   

Halloween is big business for candy companies in America

There are also other Halloween traditions, including large parades and carved pumpkins events. Towns associated with otherworldly stories – such as Salem, Massachusetts (which is famous for its witch trials) or the Hudson Valley (where the headless horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow story lived) – hold events, tours and plays throughout the month of October. And every food and drink is pumpkin flavoured for about three months – the pumpkin beer is a particular favourite of mine.

All Hallows Eve in Ireland

A lot of Halloween traditions in America came from Ireland many centuries ago. Traditionally, the Irish carved ‘jack-o-lanterns’ by cutting faces into turnips to scare away evil ghosts – today, they use easier-to-carve pumpkins, like the Americans do. Both adults and children dress up in costumes to trick-or-treat, light bonfires and watch fireworks, then head home for food and party games. In ‘apple-bobbing’, players have to try and pick up apples from bowls of water using their mouths, whilst ‘snap-apple’ involves trying to take bites of apples swinging from a string.

The over-indulgence on sweets may have begun with the traditional sweet fruitcakes, called barnbrack, which had prizes hidden inside – although modern children tend to prefer the sweets from the trick-or-treating.  

Parties in Romania

Romania is still a very religious country, and strict observers of Catholic and Orthodox Christianity discourage Halloween celebrations. However, with the most famous vampire novel, Dracula, being set in Transylvania (a region in Romania) it is becoming a very popular tourist destination for the scariest time of the year. Trips to famous locations are popular, and costume parties are held each year in castles across the country, including the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, the violent ruler who inspired the legend of Dracula. The stunning Gothic architecture in Romania all adds to the creepy atmosphere.  

Pangangaluluwâ in the Philippines

The festival in the Philippines runs from 31st October to 2nd November, and it is a time to remember the dead – Filipinos will often return home during this period to celebrate together with their families. The traditional pangangaluluwâ involves going to houses and offering a song in exchange for abúloy (alms for the dead). House owners give money or food to the singers, and ask them to sing songs for their dead loved ones. Householders sometimes give children suman, a Filipino delicacy of sweet rice cakes.

Filipino children will sing for neighbours to get sweet rice cakes like these.

During the night of the 31st, items such as clothing, plants, or pots will "mysteriously" disappear from the house, only to be discovered outside the house the next morning. It is supposed that this is the doing of the souls who have visited in the night…

Dušičky in Czechoslovakia

Like many Catholic countries, Czech festivities are based around All Souls Day on 2nd November. They call the day dušičky, which means "little souls". In the evening, Czech families traditionally welcome the souls of loved ones into their house, lighting candles and fires to guide their way home. They also leave an empty chair for the souls to sit in when they arrive. On All Souls Day itself, they visit cemeteries and pay respect to their dead by cleaning the graves and lighting candles.

Alla Helgons Dag in Sweden

Alla Helgons Dag (All Saints Day) in Sweden is a national holiday. The holiday itself is always on the Saturday between 31st October and 6th November (Saturday is often still considered a workday in Sweden). Schools also have a day off on the Friday before Alla Helgons Dag, and universities get a short day to prepare for the festivities. Families light special long-burning candles on Friday afternoon, which then burn for the whole weekend. Churches have beautiful candle-lighting ceremonies for members of the congregation who have passed away, and cemeteries are filled with flames by the loved ones of the dead.

Dia de Muertos in Mexico

Whilst The Day of the Dead is celebrated in most Hispanic countries, Mexico is famous for its celebrations during the festival. It is a jubilant festival that remembers and celebrates the lives of dead friends and family, rather than mourning their loss. The festival begins on All Hallows Eve on the 31st October, when the souls of the dead are thought to return home. Families light candles and incense to help the spirits find their way. Relatives will make alters in their homes – called ofrendas – and decorate them with pictures of their deceased loved ones, as well as flowers, sweets and the person’s favourite foods and drink. Families might also place water and towels out, for the soul to wash when they arrive.

A grave in Mexico decorated for Dia de Muertos

All Saints Day on the 1st November is often a day of prayer, and very often will be spent in church, as well as cleaning and decorating the graves of family members. The festival ends with the main celebrations of All Souls Day on the 2nd November. Families gather at their loved-ones grave, which are decorated elaborately with flowers, wreaths and coloured paper. They have a picnic there, feasting on ‘bread of the dead’, spicy meat, and the famous sugar skulls. Villages hold parades, with dancing in the street and everyone dressed elaborately – many people will dress as skeletons, with picturesque make-up. The whole festival is full of colour, noise and celebration – there is no fear of the dead, only respect.

 


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