5 Weird and Wonderful Halloween Traditions Around The World
Halloween is probably the most wildly celebrated festivals in the United States. And why wouldn’t it be, it has got everything - ridiculously colorful costumes, candies, decoration, and not to forget, a crazy fandom. Plus, the timing couldn’t be better. With November chills about to set in, and the Christmas bells ringing in the distance, Halloween is truly a holiday to look up to for having a wonderful time with friends and family.
America’s idea of celebrating this wonderful holiday includes mainly two activities - trick-or-treating like kids around the neighborhood and dressing up as popular fictional characters from movies or comic books. For more information, you can check out our article most popular budget costumes for Halloween party.
But Halloween is more than just a holiday, it has a tremendous significance in history. As a result, it is celebrated with the same intensity and fervor in almost all the other parts of the world. The only difference being is the way it is celebrated because clearly, with something like Halloween you can also expect craziness. Therefore, we bring you some wildly wonderful and weird Halloween traditions from around the globe. Take a look
The Hungry Ghost Festival
China’s take on Halloween is this weird tradition called the Hungry Ghost. A popular belief in some parts of Hong Kong and China dictates that the spirits of the deceased family members visit their native land every year in the seventh lunar month, with an appetite for their favorite food item. So people in this part of the world celebrate Halloween by feeding the ghost of their relatives by preparing the food items they loved the most. Festivities also include costume designing, traditional dance performances to invite the spirits, parades, and a lot other wonderful activities.
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La Calabiuza
El Salvador is a beautiful country known for its outlandish yet colorful traditions. Halloween here is celebrated in a very unique fashion. To celebrate the ghostly festival, the natives here dress as the characters from the ancient American folklore called La Siguanaba. The storyline involves a promiscuous woman cursed for relinquishing her responsibilities as a mother and abandoning her son. The festivities are actually the one to watch out for. People are dressed like crazy and it’s impossible to recognize if whether you are watching a real dead body or a man in a costume. The streets are swarmed with people and their colorful carts painted with scary designs and unique gears. What’s even crazy is that people cook on the streets the entire night and enjoy it with their friends.
Meath
Irish have been the pioneers of holiday celebrations from centuries. They know how to party! Halloween, much like most of the other globally recognized festivals is another one of their classic inventions. The first Halloween was celebrated during the times of Celtic kings where people enjoyed the day of the dead by remembering them and enjoying a feast to celebrate their lives. Now, however, things have got a little more modern. Halloween in Ireland is known by the name of Spirits of Meath which features spooky settings like horror farms and tainted houses. People spent the entire day getting indulged in haunted activities, watching scary movies, enjoying murder mystery dinner parties and hanging out at places that offer bone-chilling games.
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El Dia de Los Muertos
Latins have a special place in their heart for the deceased. They have plenty of days in a year dedicated to paying homage to those who are no more. In Mexico, people celebrate Halloween by visiting the cemetery. This, however, isn’t a regular visit. They are dressed exactly like the deceased they are visiting. What’s interesting is that they also carry food, flowers, clothes, a piece of jewelry as memorabilia. In some part of the Southern Mexico people even fast for the entire day and pray for their ancestors to rest in peace by standing in long queues outside the nearby chapels.
The Odo Festival
The festival known as Awuru Odo is something that can be compared to Halloween. It is a traditional celebration of Nigeria to mark the return of those who departed back to human life. Unlike any other variation of the Halloween, this one right here lasts for up to six months! Yes, you heard it right. The festivities are pretty common like music, dance, and feasts but what makes this tradition so unique is how people dress. The traditional attire for this day is a long bushy jute parasol, and people are supposed to walk in it through streets until they are absolutely convinced they have managed to bring back their beloved ones back to living. Believe it or not but people go on for weeks on the streets without food and water.
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Who would have thought Halloween can be this crazy! Well, the list of weird and wonderful traditions can go on and on but these five here were the most exciting ones. Do you know about any such unique Halloween tradition? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
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