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Halloween Traditions Around the World
Celebrate your Halloween the way your ancestors did! Here are traditions for Halloween from around the world!
England
The original Celtic year ended on October 31st, and the day was called "Samhain". The Celts felt that the ghosts of ancestors might try to take over their bodies on this night, so they dressed up in scary outfits and tried to scare off the ghosts.
France
November 2nd was called All Souls Day, and at the time it was felt that souls first went to limbo. They would be stuck there until enough people prayed for their release into Heaven. So people would go door to door on the 2nd, asking for "Soul Bread" - squares of bread made with currants. For each square of bread they got, they promised to pray for all ancestors related to that household. It was a giant prayer chain! This is where trick-or-treating comes from.
Germany
To celebrate the fruitful harvest, many northern europeans would hold giant feasts where they invited the ghosts of their ancestors to come share in the bounty, and where they told ghost stories all night.
Ireland
Irish traditions involved hollowing out turnips and lighting candles to put in them, to celebrate the end of the harvest and fruitful times. When Irish immigrants came to the US, they found that pumpkins worked far better! For trick-or-treating, the Irish often had horn-blowers in their groups to help encourage "generosity".
Italy
The Romans had many harvest-time festivals, most of them celebrating the role of Pomona, the goddess of the orchard. Apple bobbing comes from these celebrations.
Mexico
In Mexico, Halloween is called "Los Dias De Los Muertos". This is the time of year that millions of butterflies come to Mexico to winter, and the Mexicans felt these were the souls of their ancestors returning to bring beauty. This is not time to fear ghosts - it is time to celebrate the memories and love of your ancestors. They share stories and memories, and dress up as ghosts and skeletons. They light candles, go to the grave and clean it and put flowers down.
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