Feature Friday: Halloween Edition

I know, I know. Halloween isn’t until Tuesday, but I thought it would be neat to do a Halloween Edition of Feature Friday. So we’re celebrating the holiday a little bit early! Isn’t that sweet? 🙂 This Halloween Edition of Feature Friday showcases how people from various parts of the world celebrate this festive day. I love seeing the unique costumes, the fun activities, and overall just how much fun people having during this day.

Before we jump into the personal anecdotes these bloggers have been so kind to share with us, let’s ponder the question: Do you know how the holiday of Halloween started? I personally had no idea before looking it up. It never even really occurred to me to think about the origins of the holiday. According to the History website:

“Halloween is an annual holiday, celebrated each year on October 31, that has roots in age-old European traditions. It originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints; soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating and carving jack-o-lanterns. Around the world, as days grow shorter and nights get colder, people continue to usher in the season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.”

That’s interesting to see how Halloween originated from Europe, as I feel like it’s now a much bigger deal in the United States; however, that could just be my perception. And even back then, they would wear costumes. That’s pretty cool to think about, and to wonder what they used as inspiration for their costumes. The website has tons of cool information on the holiday, so if you’re interested in learning more – stop by History.com! Now that we have a basic understanding of the history of Halloween, let’s see how the day is celebrated in peoples’ lives!

Cara from Utah: “My family is really into Halloween, and we have many traditions to celebrate throughout October. Each year we have coordinating family costumes. This year we’re going as colorful birds! We also throw a Halloween party each year for family and friends. One of my favorite traditions is going to the pumpkin patch every year. There are plenty of great pumpkins to choose from, cute backdrops to take pictures with, and fun activities for kids. We also celebrate throughout the month by watching Halloween movies and listening to Halloween music.
And of course, we go trick-or-treating with our little girl, decked
out in our matching costumes!” Find Cara on Instagram.

Ha from Vietnam: “I celebrated my last Halloween in Copenhagen, Denmark. Although Halloween is not a big activity in this country, there are still parties and celebrations around the city. On Halloween day, people cosplay and wear different costumes to the parties. Bars and clubs are
decorated in Halloween style and offer special Halloween drinks and snacks. It is really interesting to see the city in the Halloween vibe.” Find Ha on Facebook.

Marsha from New York: ” Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. I love dressing up in costumes and kinda wish we can dress up once a month! But then Halloween wouldn’t be so special if it happened so frequently. I love to see how creative people get with their costumes. I love how creative I can get with my costumes. One year I dressed like a mime. Another like a bumblebee. I like to use Halloween as a time to educate/learn in a fun way. So far my all time favorite costume was from Halloween 2016, when I dressed up as Josephine Baker. Miss Josephine Baker was a singer and  actress in the 1920s. She’s well known for her “Danse Sauvage”, where she dances in nothing but a banana skirt! Tired of the racial injustices in the States she moved to France and became a huge success. She also was a spy for the French Resistance. Before putting on my “banana costume” I was a bit anxious. I don’t have a supermodel body. As a matter of fact I have a bit of a potbelly. But once i slipped into that skirt I felt empowered. I channelled this awesome woman who lead an extraordinary life. Most people didn’t know who I was. They thought I was Princess Tiana. But once I told people who I was they were pretty impressed by her story. That’s the great thing about this holiday. With your costume you can be anyone or anything you want. You get to be a storyteller. So this year when you dress up for Halloween, who’s story are you going to tell?” Find Marsha on Instagram.

Michael from Switzerland: “Compared to the well-known Halloween in the United States the one we have in Switzerland is small. And with small I mean it. It’s tiny! If you are living in a house and expect kids to come and ask for “Sweet or treat” you can be sure to wait for some time. Personally I only did it once in my childhood and most people didn’t even have sweets at home. When talking about the big parties and creative costumes there is more hope for Halloween in Switzerland. There are several events and parties with many participants. It’s a lot of fun, but still nothing compared to the ones in the United States. Whilst I stayed in California last Halloween I was astonished. This definitely goes back to the “Carneval” we have here in Switzerland. It’s quite similar to Halloween: People get dressed in costumes and make huge parties. So Halloween is more an event of less importance for Swiss people in general.” Find Michael on Facebook.

Penny from England: “I’ve always loved celebrating Halloween. I dressed up every year, went out with my friends, hosted parties and spent every evening of October counting down to Halloween by watching one horror movie each night. On 31st October 2014, my love for Halloween changed, and it became all the more special, as I met my partner Sam, while out with my friends, dressed as a gothic devil bride in full celebration mode. Since we’ve been together, we’ve adopted Halloween to be a celebration of our love, remembering the night we met. We go out on activity days, visit Scaresville, the fright night at our local Zoo, participate in ghost hunting / walks or snuggle up in bed watching scary movies, hiding behind the popcorn. We’ll always light candles to remember those who sadly are no longer with us, but for us now Halloween isn’t just about remembering the dead or a celebration of life.. for us, it’s also become a celebration of love.” Find Penny on Instagram.

Ren from The Philippines: “In the Philippines, the 31st of October gets tied up with all saints day and all souls day. Everyone gets ready for a pretty long break from work or school, and workplaces start it off with a Halloween event of some sort–either a Halloween party or office trick-or-treat for employee’s kids. Halloween day itself can mean one of several things though. It could mean getting dressed up (or getting the kids dressed up) for trick-or-treat in one of the big subdivisions. It could mean staying in, lighting candles, and tuning in to the many horror marathons on local TV. It could also mean getting ready for the next day to be spent with dearly departed loved ones–packing candles, snacks and cleaning supplies. Regardless of the activity, one thing that’s certain is that the day is spent with family and/or friends–which embodies the familial aspect that is the very core of the Filipino culture.” Find Ren on Facebook.

Savannah from Ontario: “This month my family and I decided to do something different for Halloween because it’s my daughters first. We’re both into family traditions, so we decided to start 31 days of Halloween movies. Halloween is a big holiday in my family so it was so important that we do something this year, and this was just the thing! Many of our friends and family love the idea and started 31 days of Halloween movies in their own homes too. Traditions are amazing ways to bring the family together, and keep every holiday fun for everyone.” Find Savannah on Facebook.

Tissy from Ontario: “My family moved several times growing up and holiday traditions were ways we kept that sense of ‘home’ and familiarity no matter where we lived. Every holiday meant freshly baked goods – Halloween was no different. Given my own lack of culinary talent; mom’s traditional sugar cookies decorated with spiders and pumpkins evolved to mom-friendly Pillsbury’s ready-to-bake Halloween cookies.  A decoration minimalist the glowing pumpkin on the front stoop meant a yearly rush the day of; to find the perfect pumpkin for each daughter and have them carve their favorite ghoulish face.  No stencils just hand-drawn awesomeness. Dinner was prepared by my husband and became our tradition several years prior – a pot of steamy Pasta Fagioli soup waiting for the girls after we have finished our trick-or-treating for the evening. He would start the soup right after work and hand-out candy from the garage to the masses while it simmered slowly on the stovetop. Treats were always checked first by mom and at least one bowl of soup had to be devoured before candy was allowed. Costumes were masterminded weeks before; never store-bought always creative concoctions by the girls – mommy’s makeup, sports equipment or pompoms made from green garbage bags – always inventive, always fun.  We finished our evening with a family viewing of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”. This is a favorite picture of my girls picking out pumpkins from the local pumpkin patch. Happy Halloween!” Find Tissy on Facebook.

Halloween Edition:

Thank you so much to all the bloggers who took the time to share their Halloween traditions or their special celebrations. I enjoyed learning the various ways people from around the world celebrate the holiday, especially since I wasn’t sure if it was celebrated to the same extent or in the same fashion as the United States. I hope this year everyone’s Halloween is just as special as it’s been in the past. If you’re starting new traditions, may they be fun and tasty, and of course spooktacular! Happy trick-or-treating, and Happy Halloween!

What about you? Where do you live? Do you celebrate Halloween?