Halloween is one of many holidays celebrated in the US, but we are not the only ones who celebrate. Even though it may not necessarily be called Halloween in other countries, they still celebrate other things in other ways.
Mexico celebrates El Día de los Muertos (The day of the Dead) to welcome back their loved ancestors’ souls. They make lots of food that their ancestors loved and get them their favorite things. They also have lots of skulls that can represent the circle of life. People like to think that their ancestors are never forever gone, but that they are always with us. This is represented in the Disney movie Coco.
Another country that celebrates Halloween on October 31. is Italy. It is very popular to dress up as either a witch, vampire, or even a zombie. A big tradition for kids is to carve skulls into pumpkins. The kids will then go around their towns to give them to businesses or even people’s houses, asking for payment. These pumpkins are used to fight off any evil spirit. Italy also celebrates All Saints day which is on November 1 and All Souls day which is on November 2. These days are also very popular in other European countries as well. On these days people are to remember the dead and honor them.
Germany is not a traditional country that celebrates Halloween. They do however, have a big pumpkin festival that runs from the end of August to the beginning of November. This famous pumpkin festival is held in Ludwigsburg Germany. This is also the largest pumpkin festival in the world. More and more countries today are taking part in traditions that the United States has, as well as having some of their very own.
For more information on any of these topics visit history.com or npr.org.
