Recently, Halloween has become very popular around the world thanks to the global modern culture. Best of all, we know the traditions that distinguish this holiday in the United States: pumpkins, costumes, horror films and trips to the neighbors for candy.
However, the history of this holiday is rich and unique for each region. Initially, Halloween was a festival of dead souls, when people from many countries paid tribute to the departed. In many places, traditional tribute to the deceased is paid to this day during the celebration of Halloween or its analogues.
Giant kites in Guatemala
In this Central American state, during the celebration of All Saints' Day, it is customary to bring and fly kites to the cemetery.
Usually these ritual snakes are very large, round, and unusually decorated. Mayan tribal designs often appear among the colors and patterns that adorn the kites. Snakes are handmade from paper, cardboard, fabric and bamboo sticks.
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Guatemalans believe that the higher the kite rises into the sky, the closer the soul of a deceased loved one is to them. This tradition is more than three thousand years old, the ritual was performed long before Hernan Cortes began the conquest of America.
Foyle Carnival
Modern Halloween appeared on the Irish coast as a variation of the Celtic festival of Samhain. Northern Ireland regularly hosts a festival rich in tradition and history. During the festival, it is customary to light fires and there is a traditional fortune-telling cake: if you find a ring, then a wedding awaits you, if you find a twig, then you have a road ahead.
The festival takes place in the ancient town of Derry, whose walls are more than four hundred years old.
O-Bon
This three-day Japanese festival, unlike Halloween, takes place in August rather than late October. However, Japanese O-Bon and Halloween have a lot in common. Both are celebrated with the thought of the dead, with both lanterns and candles being emphasized during the celebrations.
In Japan, at the beginning of the celebration, lanterns are lit in the house in order to illuminate the way home for departed souls. At the end of the holiday, lanterns are lowered into the water - into lakes or rivers to show souls the way back.
Sometimes in the lanterns leave notes with the deepest desires.
Hop tu naa
The Isle of Man is an extremely strange place where Celtic culture is reflected in the daily lives of its inhabitants. One of the brightest examples of the preservation of Celtic traditions is the Hop-Tu-Naa holiday - a kind of island version of Halloween.
Locals sing old songs from rich folklore that tell about witches and sacrifices, carve lanterns from turnips, not pumpkins, and bake pies, which must be eaten in silence and in silence.
Guy Zhatra Cow Festival
In Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, a cow parade is held annually, which brings together families who have lost a loved one last year. Each family takes a cow with them or, in case of shortage, a child disguised as a cow.
The festival takes place at the end of summer and is more like a carnival than a memorial procession. The parade is full of colorful costumes, noise and songs. Parade watchers treat the participants with goodies or give them money.
According to the belief of local residents, the dead swim across the river to the other world, hooked on the tail of a cow.
La Calabiuza
During All Saints' Day in El Salvador, locals hold parades on the streets of their cities, in which representatives of Central American folklore (Salvadorans in disguise and decorated) take part.
On the first of November, after dark, people begin to burn fires and cook pumpkin with honey right on them. The festival is dedicated to the pumpkin and even shares its name with it. The next day, the Salvadorans go to the cemetery and put flower wreaths on the graves of their loved ones.
This tradition, oddly enough, is not Catholic, since the same rituals were practiced long before the colonization of the American continents.
Pchum Ben
Cambodia's All Saints' Day takes place in early October and ends with a grand religious festival lasting 15 days. During the festival, residents bring food to the pagodas for deceased relatives and ancestors. The more food the better. If dead souls remain hungry, they are considered to be capable of bringing unhappiness.
Otherworldly phenomena
This festival takes place in Salem, an American city infamous for the trial and execution of witches. The city is haunted all year round by the feeling of "otherworldly nearby". This is probably why the residents decided to organize an annual festival lasting from September to October inclusive.
The festival program includes over a hundred different events, from sessions with ghosts to horror stories around the fire. Tourists and locals alike can choose which movie or play to go to, which mystical excursion to sign up for, and which traditional rituals to participate in.
Festival of Hungry Ghosts
During this festival, the Chinese try to appease the spirits that walk the world of the living for 24 hours. Spirits are offered a huge amount of food, incense and even money is burned, although most Chinese people prefer to burn counterfeit bills.
In Hong Kong, this festival is celebrated throughout September. For a whole month, the inhabitants of the city entertain their dead spirits that roam the streets of the city. Street performances, operas and fairs can be enjoyed in Hong Kong in September.
County Meath perfume
County Meath, Ireland, was the site of the first Celtic Samhain Festival, as mentioned above. At the site of the discovery of the most ancient Celtic runes, a two-week festival dedicated to spirits and mystical creatures is held.
Particularly popular are "horror farms", where ghosts are chased (or away), plays and horror movies are shown, "gruesome dinners" are held and horror stories are told around campfires.
In addition, those who wish can take part in quizzes and evaluate their own knowledge of the terrible. If you are sure that you know the answer to the question from which vegetable the lantern was first carved and in which city the author of the novel "Dracula" Bram Stoker was born, then you can try to win a prize.
Hope Chikanchi