Halloween, celebrated annually on 31 October, is becoming increasingly popular outside the USA. It has its origins in the Celtic festival of Samhain, when the ancients believed that the boundary between the living and the dead became particularly thin at this time. Today, Halloween has transformed into a fun-filled day of celebration, with children and adults alike taking part in costume parades, carving pumpkins and enjoying frighteningly tasty treats.
Here’s how Halloween is celebrated in different parts of the world:
USA: Kids, candy and horror movies
In the USA, Halloween is a grand event with fancy costumes, decorations and trick-or-treating. Children dress up as ghosts, horns, superheroes and go door-to-door having fun and collecting sweets. Adults often take part in themed parties and test their nerves with horror movie marathons.
Mexico: Día de los Muertos
Although this holiday is different from Halloween, it is often celebrated at the same time. In Mexico, Día de los Muertos is a bright and colourful celebration aimed at honouring and commemorating deceased family members. During this time, people create ofrendas or altars with flowers, photographs and favourite foods of the deceased.
Ireland and Great Britain: traditions of firefighters and masks
Halloween originally comes from Ireland and Great Britain. Here, the traditions are similar to those of Celtic times – bonfires are lit to scare away evil spirits and people dress up in masks. In these countries, pumpkin carving has become an essential part of the festivities.
Japan: Kawasaki Halloween Parade
In Japan, the celebration of Halloween is relatively new but growing very fast. Every year Tokyo hosts the Kawasaki Halloween Parade, a colourful.
Latvia: Traditions from the West
In Latvia, Halloween is a relatively new tradition, but in recent years it has become increasingly popular, especially among young people and children.
In many parts of Latvia, schools and kindergartens organise themed parties with mask parades, where children dress up in spooky or fun costumes and take part in various activities, such as pumpkin carving competitions and scary story-telling. In the evenings, there are often discos with light and sound effects to create a mystical atmosphere.
Some adults and young people, following the Western example, enjoy Halloween by attending themed parties in bars and clubs, dressing up in colourful costumes and decorating their homes with pumpkins, candles and spooky decorations.
The tradition of pumpkin carving is also becoming more and more part of Latvian Halloween culture. Carved pumpkins with candles are placed outside houses and on balconies, creating a light and somewhat mystical atmosphere in the dark autumn evenings.
Halloween in our apartment rental project: a celebration that brings people together
Halloween was celebrated with care and festive joy in our apartment rental project “Cēsu Terraces”! Stairwells were transformed into magical and mystical places where spiders, skeletons and ghostly figures peeked out from the shadows. Each tenant contributed their creativity to decorate the apartment doors – from funny skeletons to spiders.
The children had prepared amazing and imaginative costumes – from little ghosts and witches to superheroes and fairytale characters. On a festive evening, they happily and excitedly walked around the decorated doors taking part in our little trick-or-treat games. The tenant community was warmly involved, giving the children not only sweets, but also fun and an unforgettable festive feeling.
It was a great opportunity to get together, create a pleasant atmosphere and enjoy the darkest evenings of the year together with smiles and imagination!
