Halloween and its Cultural Lookalikes From Across the World

Autumn winds are here, and so are spooky masks, capes, skeletons and a hell lot of pumpkins in the grocery stores… Today’s Halloween combines Catholic, pagan, Celtic and modern western traditions; which boils it down to tricks, treats and an enjoyable  holiday. However, the core idea of Halloween, of celebrating the dead, has been a part of cultures across the world. This idea is present even without cultural exchanges. Not only the concept itself, but even the ways in which this day is celebrated: Time of the year, food, special flowers, all seem somewhat similar and connected to each other.

This provides us a peek into the interesting ways in which human minds have been working the same over continents and millennia; the importance of family and friends, strong belief in life after death, holding on to history, and the everlasting longing to belong somewhere, to find out and cherish one’s origin; all these traits can be seen in people of different cultures and time. It is this emotional nature that remains the same irrespective of time, social or ethnic divisions among people, and has thus consistently been an inseparable part of the human experience throughout history.

Here’s a glance at some cultural parallels of Halloween celebrated today, from across the globe:

1. Samhain- Ireland

   
   

Samhain is an ancient celtic or otherwise pagan traditional festival, where the celebrations of modern Halloween are considered to have their roots in. The festival was first celebrated to welcome new harvest at the end of summer and marking entry into the “darker half” of the year. People would light and sit around community-bonfires worshiping pagan gods such as the sun, and performing sacrifices. 

People may think that Samhain was all about deadly monsters. However, ghosts and monsters weren’t the original theme of this festival. It was believed that the boundaries between our world and “other world” reduced during this time, and so increased the chances of their ancestors crossing over. Thus, people dressed as monsters and ghosts to scare away any fairies that might be tempted to kidnap them!

2. Zhongyuan- China 

China has two festivals to celebrate the departed souls. Zhongyuan, or the ghost festival celebrated in Buddhist and Maoist cultures across Southeast Asia, falls around August. This so-called Ghost month is the seventh of the Chinese lunar calendar. People venerate, remember and pay respects to their ancestors during this time. The fifteenth day of the month is called the Ghost Day or Pudu, in which souls of the deceased ancestors are believed to visit the living realm. On this day and over the Ghost month, people prepare ritualistic food offerings, burn incense and joss paper, offer clothes and so on. Other festivities include buying and releasing paper boats as well as lanterns on waters, which are believed to give directions to the spirits.

3. Dia de los Muertos- Mexico

Yes, the same festival that’s shown in Coco (2017). Dia de los Muertos takes place around the same day as Halloween, on November 1 and 2. This is because it was brought by the Spanish imperialists with them when they entered Mexico. However, once reached there the celebration got a Mexican twist and spice to it, and of course more color too! The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay respects and to remember their deceasedfriends and family members who have died. People create home altars and visit their families to remember the dead and have traditional food prepared. People paint their faces as skulls or create skull masks from sugar and wander about. Not to mention, these skulls are supposed to be smiling, to laugh at death itself! The yellow marigold flower called Flor de los Muertos holds a special importance in offerings to the dead on this day.

4. Ognissanti- Italy

 il Giorno dei Morti, as it is called in Italian, is simply a version of All saints day in Italy. On this day many people return to their hometown to meet family and friends. Apart from commemorating saints of the Christian religion, people bring flowers to offer at the graves of family members. It is a day to honor ancestors and be grateful to them. Thus the traditional flower for the occasion are chrysanthemums which symbolize death in Italian culture. Various regions in Italy have their own traditions for the day in addition, and special food too!

5. Pitru paksha- India 

Pitru paksha is a sixteen lunar-day period in the Hindu calendar.During this time people pay homage to their ancestors, especially through food offerings. It falls in the Ninth month of the Hindu calendar which is often between September and October. The final day of the period is the New Moon Day, called SarvaPitri Amavasya (New moon of all ancestors) and holds the most significance. Families perform rituals for a good afterlife of their ancestors and offer food to crows, which are considered as messengers between the mortal realm and realm of the dead. Some people fast on the final day to purify themselves and their ancestors as well. It is not considered appropriate to arrange weddings or similar celebrations in this period, to respect the memory of the dead. Interestingly, yellow marigold flowers hold a significance in offerings here too!

6. Obon- Japan 

Obon is celebrated slightly earlier; in August, over three days. It is a 500-year-old fusion of the ancient Japanese beliefs in ancestral spirits and Buddhist customs to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. On the first day of Obon, people light a small fire called an ogara. It is believed that ghosts of lost family members follow the smoke created by this fire to return to the land of the living. The second day is when most families make some time to visit graves to pay their respects. Cleaning the stones, bringing a family member’s favorite snack or object, or offering water or flowers are all common practices. On the final day of Obon, it’s time to say goodbye. Families guide the spirits back to the grave with traditional chochin lanterns that are carried in-hand by people, floated into the rivers or into the sky.

Bon Odori is a must-see celebration as a part of this festival. Throngs of revelers and dancers in traditional garb go around on the streets moving to the beat of taiko drums. The dances vary by region and make for a lively evening of entertainment for everyone. There’s also the tradition of lighting Okuribi, or small fires to guide the spirits back to the other side. Some regions, however, light massive bonfires along the sea or in the mountains. 

7. Chuseok- North & South Korea

Chuseok is a major mid-autumn harvest festival and a three-day holiday in South Korea. It is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunisolar calendar on the full moon, usually nearabout September. A Korean version of Thanksgiving, the celebration consists of making traditional food and coming together with family members to remember ancestors, and to show gratitude for the past and future.