It’s Halloween Time! How Halloween Or Its Version, is Celebrated Having Different Names Across the World
So, Halloween is here. It is anticipated by many. But do you know that Halloween or its versions are too celebrated across different locations of the world? Albeit with different names though but one thing is common and that is relates to those who are dead or better say for ancestors
It usually occurs post the harvest in August, September, October, or November, depending on where one lives.
So let us take a look at some of the names where it is celebrated.
USA
As one of the world’s oldest holidays, Halloween is still celebrated in several countries around the globe, but it is in the USA that it maintains its highest level of popularity.
Each year, around 65% of Americans decorate their homes and offices for Halloween, a percentage beaten only by Christmas. Halloween is the holiday when the most candy is sold and is second after Christmas in terms of total sales.
India
Several Hindus in India do holy rituals during Pitru Paksha or Shraadh meaning the “fortnight of the ancestors” in Hindi. This goes on for a fortnight sometime in the months of September or October.
In similar practices to Halloweens around the world, men give donations of food to deceased spirits and do certain rituals.
This food includes sesame seeds, rice and other foods that are offered to the ancestors.
Spain
El Día de los Muertos, the “Day of the Dead” in Spanish. During the first day of November, families decorate altars using mementos and favorite treats of relatives that are no more.
France
Unlike most countries of the world, Halloween is not celebrated by the French in an effort to honor the dead and departed ancestors. It is considered as an “American” holiday in France and was literally unknown in the country until around 1996.
Germany
In Germany, the people put away their knives on Halloween night. The idea behind this is because they do not want to risk harm befalling the returning spirits.
Japan
The Japanese people celebrate the “Obon Festival” (also known as “Matsuri” or “Urabon”) which is quite similar to Halloween festivities and that it is dedicated to the spirits of ancestors. Special foods are made and bright red lanterns are hung everywhere.
Candles are lit and positioned inside the lanterns which are then set afloat on rivers and seas. During the “Obon Festival,” a fire is lit each night in an effort to show the ancestors where their families might be found. “Obon” is one of the two major occasions during the Japanese year when the dead are believed to return to their birthplaces. Memorial stones are cleaned properly and community dances are performed. The Obon Festival takes place during July or August.
China
In China, the Halloween festival is known as Teng Chieh. Food and water are kept in front of photographs of family members who have departed while bonfires and lanterns are lit in an effort to light the paths of the spirits as they travel the earth during Halloween night. Worshippers in Buddhist temples fashion “boats of the law” using paper, some of which are quite large, which are then burned during the evening hours.
There are several other countries that observe a similar festival. Tell us which one belongs to your country.