Cultural Question for International Boardies (Halloween related)

[HS Mom in NC]

My 9 year old wants to know if people outside the US celebrate Halloween or something like it.  To her Halloween includes:

 

1. Carving pumpkins

2. Dressing up in costume

3. Trick or treating in her neighborhood

4. Attending a carnival with games and prizes

5. Spooky/ghostly readings like The Legend of Sleepy Hallow, The Raven and The Telltale Heart

6. Spooky Music like Camille Saint-Sean's Danse Macabre, Moussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain and movies set to them like in Fantasia.

7. Movies/cartoons inspired by and/or parodied by #5 and #6. 

8. Making miniature skulls out of sugar and painting them with food coloring (an influence from Mexico and their Day of the Dead celebration.)

 

Also, if you don't do anything like it, I wonder as I type this out, just how weird American Halloween is to you on a scale of 1 to 10?

 

[chiguirre]

In Venezuela, people do none of those things. Young adults might dress up and go to a Halloween party at a nightclub, but that's it. We don't celebrate the Day of the Dead either. People do put flowers on graves on Nov. 2, but that's it.

 

The big dress up, play tricks on people, eat a bunch of candy, play games, etc. holiday is Carnaval (Mardi Gras). Although schools are off on the actual day, it's a four day weekend, kids do have parties at school the week before.

[linders]

Story to share...

 

Halloween is not a thing in Switzerland. A dear Swiss friend who was living in the US for a few years brought her 2-year-old to visit at Halloween. I explained the whole holiday, and she got quite excited as we created a princess outfit, carved pumpkins, and went around town with our little darling.

 

Four years later she returned to Switzerland, where she inaugurated the first Halloween party (I had to send boxfuls of decor). In the 20 years since, her party has become a fixture in a rather large nieghborhood of Berne, and I get photos each year of the festivities. They have turned a simple party into an all-day, all-night spectacle, and all of the costumes are elaborate homemade creations.

 

One day I hope to visit at Halloween.

[SarahW]

Ireland does trick or treat. I think that's largely where America got it from.

 

Many parts of continental Europe still do a version of trick or treat on St Martin's Day (Nov 11). That was the original.

 

Pumpkins, though, are indigenous to America. Though I think the Irish would carve other gourds? Nowadays, you can buy plastic pumpkins in Europe.

[Amira]

Halloween isn't done in Kyrgyzstan except for a few parties for teenagers or college students.

 

It's becoming more popular in Mexico.  Here in Guadalajara we had a zillion trick-or-treaters last year.  They say "Queremos Halloween" (We want Halloween) instead of trick or treat because they want to celebrate it too. :)  Dressing up and trick or treating are the main things that have been imported, although that depends on whether a family has spent much time in the US.

 

Halloween is completely separate from the Day of the Dead and the two holidays are different down to the decor, although they might look similar.  Here are some photos we took last year of altars, catrinas, a cemetery, pan de muertos, and one of the best Day of the Dead markets in the country.

 

I love both holidays so this is a great weekend for me. :)

[bolt.]

Majority-culture Canadians do all of those things, except for #10. I think we are too far from Mexico for the two holidays to get mixed up.

 

(Minority cultures may or may not be interested in participation.)

[Lanny]

We live in S.W. Colombia and Halloween is a big deal for children here. Where we live, in a huge rural subdivision, our Homeowners Association always has something for the children and the past few days I have been thinking, "they haven't sent an email about when the kids will be Trick or Treating, if they are going to do that, or, if not, what activities there will be and when we should deliver candy from our family for the event?"

 

Today, I received an email from the H.A.  Apparently they held the event last weekend in the little park for children and they attached 2 photos and a video of the event.

 

Let me tell you about Halloween 2004, our first Halloween here. DD had just turned 4.  They had horse drawn wagons (those wagons were normally used by workers in the subdivision) to take the kids and those parents who wanted to ride with them could do so. Well, I didn't realize just how fast that old horse could pull that wagon and said I would walk behind the wagon. That was fine, until he got going fast...  He is now retired and has his own vacant lot(s) where he lives and they move him around and he is looking very well. :-)

 

I called my wife on my cell phone and told her I couldn't keep up with the wagon and was coming home to get my bike. While talking with her on my cell , I saw our cat, who'd run off, because  our dogs had driven her away and my wife said "bring back my cat!".   So, I got the cat, walked home with her and then got on my bike and went to find the wagon DD was riding in. (The cat now lives with neighbors we are friendly with, about one block away. They are very nice, much more affluent than we are, she has a new name and we are happy she found a better home)

 

Probably the year after that, we were in another part of the subdivision and it began raining hard and we had to stop and return to the H.A. office. I was riding in the wagon with DD that year. The next years, I followed the wagon on my bike.  I remember kids Trick or Treating, most of these years. Several years ago, they rented a "Chiva" (an old open air bus that looks like it is about 150 years old, they still are in service today, carrying cargo on the roof and passengers to remote areas) and went around the subdivision Trick or Treating in that. 

 

The malls here usually have their stores give out Candy for kids who Trick or Treat in the malls. When I told my wife about how in some places in the USA they xray  the candy kids receive, to be sure there are no razor blades, etc., embedded, she found that hard to believe.

 

And, Halloween is a good excuse for parties and for stores to have sales...

 

The costumes we purchased for DD in the stores were not inexpensive...  They had large selections and the prices were also large.

 

ETA: At least one year, they had people to entertain the kids (and their parents) near the H.A. office. I think that was before they went Trick or Treating.

[Jean in Newcastle]

When I was growing up in Japan, no one there had ever heard of Halloween.  Now apparently it is a thing.  Not trick or treating so much as costumes in Halloween parades.  

[Rosie_0801]

Well, in Australia we used not to do Halloween at all and it was seen as a very American holiday.

 

Over the last 8 or so years, it's become more popular. There are a lot of decorations sold in shops, and some neighbourhoods are trick or treating friendly.

 

Older people tend not to approve....we see it as an American holiday, not really an Australian one. But children tend to approve :)

 

It's not weird to me, or the kids, but I don't have any attachment to it. It's not something we look forward to, like Christmas or Easter or birthdays.  It is definitely a cultural import, like the other holidays, but one with a much shorter history here.

 

It is mentioned in 'Picnic to Hanging Rock' which surprised me, so it has been here longer than I assumed. 

 

I was not allowed to participate as a kid and still don't. I'm celebrating Beltane so if any trick or treaters come around here, the best they are going to get is a pumpkin or tomato seed stuck in a pot.

[regentrude]

In Germany, Halloween is not traditionally celebrated.

 

In the past decade or so, it came over from the US, and now there are some Halloween parties, mainly for teens/younger adults.

No pumpkins, no trick-or-treating.

Germans dress up in costumes for Mardi Gras.

 

I do not find Halloween weird. When I first lived in the US, I really liked it. The past few years, my enthusiasm has worn off.

[Tammi K]

Well, in Australia we used not to do Halloween at all and it was seen as a very American holiday.

 

Over the last 8 or so years, it's become more popular. There are a lot of decorations sold in shops, and some neighbourhoods are trick or treating friendly.

 

Older people tend not to approve....we see it as an American holiday, not really an Australian one. But children tend to approve :)

 

I lived in Australia when several of my kids were little. We were near an Embassy so their was a small but enthusiastic group of Americans who always made sure Halloween was celebrated. The American families with kids would drive around ( out houses were scattered throughout the city) and visit the houses of fellow Americans who were older or childless. Of course, the Aussie kids in the neighbourhoods were welcome to dress-up and TorT too.  We were there for 6 years. By the time we left, there were even several neighbourhood that were primarily Australian who handed out candy on Halloween.

 

Just today I was on FB and saw a friend from Australia post that she was sooo excited for the upcoming party and showed a picture of her elaborate costume.  Even the Adults in Australia get into the spirit in the area where we lived.

[8circles]

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/halloween.asp

 

We live in S.W. Colombia and Halloween is a big deal for children here. Where we live, in a huge rural subdivision, our Homeowners Association always has something for the children and the past few days I have been thinking, "they haven't sent an email about when the kids will be Trick or Treating, if they are going to do that, or, if not, what activities there will be and when we should deliver candy from our family for the event?"

 

Today, I received an email from the H.A. Apparently they held the event last weekend in the little park for children and they attached 2 photos and a video of the event.

 

Let me tell you about Halloween 2004, our first Halloween here. DD had just turned 4. They had horse drawn wagons (those wagons were normally used by workers in the subdivision) to take the kids and those parents who wanted to ride with them could do so. Well, I didn't realize just how fast that old horse could pull that wagon and said I would walk behind the wagon. That was fine, until he got going fast... He is now retired and has his own vacant lot(s) where he lives and they move him around and he is looking very well. :-)

 

I called my wife on my cell phone and told her I couldn't keep up with the wagon and was coming home to get my bike. While talking with her on my cell , I saw our cat, who'd run off, because our dogs had driven her away and my wife said "bring back my cat!". So, I got the cat, walked home with her and then got on my bike and went to find the wagon DD was riding in. (The cat now lives with neighbors we are friendly with, about one block away. They are very nice, much more affluent than we are, she has a new name and we are happy she found a better home)

 

Probably the year after that, we were in another part of the subdivision and it began raining hard and we had to stop and return to the H.A. office. I was riding in the wagon with DD that year. The next years, I followed the wagon on my bike. I remember kids Trick or Treating, most of these years. Several years ago, they rented a "Chiva" (an old open air bus that looks like it is about 150 years old, they still are in service today, carrying cargo on the roof and passengers to remote areas) and went around the subdivision Trick or Treating in that.

 

The malls here usually have their stores give out Candy for kids who Trick or Treat in the malls. When I told my wife about how in some places in the USA they xray the candy kids receive, to be sure there are no razor blades, etc., embedded, she found that hard to believe.

 

And, Halloween is a good excuse for parties and for stores to have sales...

 

The costumes we purchased for DD in the stores were not inexpensive... They had large selections and the prices were also large.

 

ETA: At least one year, they had people to entertain the kids (and their parents) near the H.A. office. I think that was before they went Trick or Treating.

[Ausmumof3]

It wasn't a thing growing up in Aus but is becoming one now. I feel a bit like the grinch but it seems mostly to be promoted by shops who want to sell lollies, costumes and overpriced pumpkins. I like the idea of traditional Halloween I guess but I hate commercialising holidays in general.

[Laura in CA]

Story to share...

 

Halloween is not a thing in Switzerland. A dear Swiss friend who was living in the US for a few years brought her 2-year-old to visit at Halloween. I explained the whole holiday, and she got quite excited as we created a princess outfit, carved pumpkins, and went around town with our little darling.

 

Four years later she returned to Switzerland, where she inaugurated the first Halloween party (I had to send boxfuls of decor). In the 20 years since, her party has become a fixture in a rather large nieghborhood of Berne, and I get photos each year of the festivities. They have turned a simple party into an all-day, all-night spectacle, and all of the costumes are elaborate homemade creations.

 

One day I hope to visit at Halloween.

 

 

How fun!

 

Yes, Halloween isn't celebrated in Switzerland, and in the Protestant, French-speaking part where we lived, neither is Mardi Gras/Karneval/Fasnacht. Of course kids are kids, and it occurs to me that although neither Halloween nor Karneval is celebrated, there is quite a fun custom in our area for teenagers (not so fun for my husband, who was trying to sleep!). On New Year's Eve, the young people in our village (pop. 800) would pull a cart around town, beating drums, and knocking on the doors of houses and farmhouses. (We lived in an apartment, so they didn't come to us.) The inhabitants would give them things (food and drinks, I think; maybe other stuff) and they'd go on to the next house. This went on all night -- we'd hear the drums, then it'd be quiet, then the drums again. We could see some of the procession from our window when they were close. Anyway, it seemed to me a very enjoyable way for the teenagers to have some (harmless) fun making noise and staying up all night.

[Cammie]

Halloween is not celebrated in India...except by expats and people who live in communities with large numbers of expats.

 

Our first year here dd was 5 years old.  There was no Halloween.  The disappointment was HUGE.

Our second year hear I organized a small Halloween party for the neighborhood kids in the clubhouse.  I also asked people to sign up to have kids trick or treat in their homes.

It got bigger, and bigger, and bigger!!

This year is our 8th year.  There will be about 150 kids at the party.  We have a Haunted House, Halloween games, popcorn, cotton candy, ice gola (like Italian ice), sweet corn.  I get face painters for the kids who don't have costumes (they are getting easier to come by in India.)  Then the kids trick or treat at about 60-70 houses in the neighborhood.

If I didn't have the party I don't think it would be safe for me to walk the streets! 

 

 

[HS Mom in NC]

Not to derail my own thread, but to demonstrate how enthusiastic some of us are about Halloween, here is a man who makes the best costumes ever.  http://happyplace.someecards.com/halloween/this-paralympian-with-one-leg-has-the-best-halloween-costume-every-single-year/ 

[Camelfeet]

Halloween is not celebrated in India...except by expats and people who live in communities with large numbers of expats.

 

Our first year here dd was 5 years old.  There was no Halloween.  The disappointment was HUGE.

Our second year hear I organized a small Halloween party for the neighborhood kids in the clubhouse.  I also asked people to sign up to have kids trick or treat in their homes.

It got bigger, and bigger, and bigger!!

This year is our 8th year.  There will be about 150 kids at the party.  We have a Haunted House, Halloween games, popcorn, cotton candy, ice gola (like Italian ice), sweet corn.  I get face painters for the kids who don't have costumes (they are getting easier to come by in India.)  Then the kids trick or treat at about 60-70 houses in the neighborhood.

If I didn't have the party I don't think it would be safe for me to walk the streets! 

 

Haha, next year I'm going to come to your party.

[LibraryLover]

I read an article today about the Fatwa Council in Malaysia barring Halloween celebrations.  Seems many there enjoy it, but it is now illegal.  My computer is not letting me cut and paste.  Google Fatwa Council Bars Muslims from Celebrating Halloween.

 

But!! You crazy Westerners with your pumpkins and costumes and giving candy to teens. You are all going to hell.   lol

[Camelfeet]

Dubai is an expat city, so almost everything is celebrated somewhere.  In the more American parts of town, there are community organized halloween parties.  I think communities (like subdivisions) also have cards they can place on their doors or front gates to indicate that they are trick or treat friendly.  There is pumpkin carving but pumpkins are very expensive so we didn't do it last year.  There are costume contests and people dress up.  There are trick or treating neighbourhoods.  There are community organized carnivals with prizes and games.  I don't believe we currently have anything like 5-8 though.  

 

In Canada we never painted sugar skulls either. 

          

[mumto2]

In England it has become quite popular. It coincides with fall half term so lots of Halloween trails etc. Costumes tend to be on the scary side, lots of skeletons and monsters. I could probably find a place to do all ten items but sugar skulls would be because scary, no Day of the Dead tie in. ;)

 

Trick or Treating is a bit hit and miss. Easier on Estates(subdivisions) if you really feel you must. We have a party at a friends each year instead of going out.

[Laura Corin]

Scotland does Guising, which is like Trick or Treat but instead of 'scaring' the householders, the children perform.  So the child says a poem, does a dance or sings a song and then gets a treat.  It's an ancient custom and may be part of the origin of the US version.

 

L

[lewelma]

I don't know about all of NZ, but in my locality, trick or treating has become quite popular in the past 10 years.  Having grown up in the USA, I have noticed a couple of funny differences between the 2 countries.

 

First, it is spring here, so light until 8 or even 8:30.  This means that houses that are participating can't just turn on their porch lights as an indication that they have lollies.  Instead, participating houses have begun to hang balloons from the mailbox or in some other way decorate the door or direct trick or treaters with chalk markings on the sidewalk.  The other problem with the light, is when to go out.  No one really knows the rules, and when they ask me, I certainly can't tell them because we always went out at dusk - around 6pm.  So most kids old and young are out in the warm spring air after dinner in broad daylight. This of course also means that cool pumpkin lanterns don't really shine. :001_smile:

 

The other really odd difference is the interpretation of the phrase "trick or treat."  Most houses will not give out candy until they see your 'trick,' which  has come to mean something special you can do -- a magic trick, a cartwheel, a sword stroke zorro style, whatever, but you must have one.  My younger spends hours trying to think up something good. 

 

However, many New Zealanders don't like the 'cultural imperialism' that Halloween represents, but at least one staunch friend of mine has bent to the will of her kids. :001_smile:

 

Ruth in NZ

[TeacherZee]

In Sweden, traditionally no, but any more yes :laugh:

 

From your list #1 and #2 are common. #3 is growing. The rest, not so much. Although my seniors are reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Fall of the House of Usher for English because then I can tick off national curriculum requirements (cultural aspects of English speaking world and l can add another time period and genre to the ones we have already read or will read).

[horsellian]

In England it was traditionally Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night/Firework Night on 5th November that was celebrated with bonfires, burning the guy, and fireworks - celebrating the failure of the Gunpowder Plot.

 

But in recent years (by which I mean "sometime since I was a child", probably mostly the last 10-15 years or so) Halloween has taken over.  The cynic in me thinks this is because the shops can sell stuff for it (you can't exactly sell bonfires or guys).  We have a family tradition of having a meal out at a restaurant that night in order to avoid any trick or treaters.

[Deb in NZ]

Where I live in NZ, Trick-or-Treating has become more popular each year, but is still viewed by most as another American import.  My dc only Trick-or-Treated the couple times we were visiting my family back in the States & we have never participated here in NZ.  I politely tell any children who come to my door that we don't celebrate Hallowe'en.  I find most of the "rules" about Trick-or-Treating that I knew growing up in the States did not come with the mainly commercial import of the holiday.  A lot of the children are not supervised & are just expecting lots of free lollies.

 

The only Hallowe'en tradition we do is to carve Jack o'Lanterns.  I always buy an orange capsicum (bell pepper) for each of my 3 dc & they carve that into a Jack o'Lantern that they eat as part of their dinner.  We don't use a pumpkin as it is springtime here & dh was horrified at the idea of wasting good food (pumpkin) making what was really a decoration.  Instead dh likes to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day (5th Nov) with a bonfire, fireworks, etc.

 

When we lived in Fiji, I belonged to the American Women's Association.  The AWA put on family events for Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, & Thanksgiving.  These events were mainly for the expat Americans, not something the general public were expected to take part in & support.  

 

JMHO

[Melissa in Australia]

Very strongly discouraged in the part of Australia where I live. there are some younger children who try to do it, but the whole community is against it as it is considered Americanizing the country . ( which is viewed as a very bad thing).

Big shopping centers are trying to force it onto everyone, selling costumes and lots of lollies. To me it is a commercial event pushed by companies trying to sell junk.

Last year I was working in a school where children discussing Halloween  was very strongly discouraged - as in the teacher would tell students not to discuss it at all on school grounds.

 

 

 

We personally do not celebrate it, but we do not do any pagan celebrations including Christmas and Birthdays.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Free]

Halloween is not at all common in India. But the part of city I live in is populated with Indian families who have returned after spending several years in the U.S. The kids from these families started the tradition of wearing costumes and going trick or treating a few years back and other kids also joined in. Trick or treating has now become a fixture in our neighborhood for the past few years.

[dlcricket]

In Ecuador, the holiday is called "Dia de la Bruja", or  "Day of the Witch". The only celebrations that we have noticed is Halloween night at bars and discotheques, where participants dress up in extreme costumes and get drunk. It is not a children's holiday.

[Lady Florida.]

Ireland does trick or treat. I think that's largely where America got it from.

 

 

 

Pumpkins, though, are indigenous to America. Though I think the Irish would carve other gourds? Nowadays, you can buy plastic pumpkins in Europe.

 

What I've read from several sources confirms what you said. While I'm sure we Americanized it, much of our Halloween activities came over with Irish immigrants. I've also read that it was other gourds the Irish carved, but since pumpkins were readily available here, that's what we ended up using.

[Tanaqui]

The Irish are supposed to have carved turnips traditionally, not gourds of any sort. However, people have been carving gourds all around the world for thousands of years.

[TravelingChris]

When we lived in Belgium 10 years ago,  there was a combination of local customs and imported American customs.  One activity that the community I lived in did was a night trek (with hundreds of people) through fields to these stations where there were fires and at the last one you got some wine?cider?beer? (I don't remember what exactly was the drink but I know that it was really fun.  We lived in Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium.  My kids did trick or treating at the Nato base offices,  we had a spectacular Haunted Hospital one year in medical center, we had a trunk and treat and carnival type festival at the local American base put on by the base chapel where the only request was no really out there costumes.  I would read in the local paper that other towns had some types of festivals and the amusement parks and shopping mall I think did something too. 
 

I have no idea about what types of stories they read in local schools but a village not that far from us had some type of attraction or event concerning witches. 

 

Belgians love to have party and every tiny village to city had some type of celebration some time during the year.  Yes, many were in Carnaval season but there are plenty all year round.  I am sure some area has some type of Halloweenish type celebration.

 

In terms of Day of the Dead, they brought Mums to the graveyards,

[Laura Corin]

In terms of Day of the Dead, they brought Mums to the graveyards,

 

Just any Mums or their own?  I know you meant flowers, but I had an image of grabbing any passing mother and dragging her off to the graveyard.

 

L

[maize]

Just any Mums or their own?  I know you meant flowers, but I had an image of grabbing any passing mother and dragging her off to the graveyard.

 

L

 

:lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[TravelingChris]

No they didn't drag Mothers to the graves.  :lol: :lol:

 

 

In  Belgium they grow fantastic gigantic Chrysanthemum flowers in pots and they are available for really not very much (I seem to remember about 5 Euro per each but that was about 10 years ago).  Anyway in the USA, those plants are not anywhere as cheap and also generally not as wonderful as those in Belgium but they are used for decorating in front of houses- not as a graveyard flower.  We were told to never make the mistake of giving one of the wonderful plants to any Belgian as a house warming or hostess gift because over there they are only used for funerals or gravesites.  We didn't care.  We decorated our front driveway with them anyway.

[Rosie_0801]

oh my

 

It's ok. She has pagan friends.   :laugh:

[horsellian]

The BBC has just posted an article on some unusual English local customs, which might be of interest:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-29742774

[Laura Corin]

 We were told to never make the mistake of giving one of the wonderful plants to any Belgian as a house warming or hostess gift because over there they are only used for funerals or gravesites.  We didn't care.  We decorated our front driveway with them anyway.

 

I seem to remember it was the same in France - chrysanthemums only for graveyards.

 

L