Geography of Halloween

Facts from the original

• Halloween is observed on October 31, the day before All Hallows.
• All Hallows is also called Hallowmas or All Saint's Day.
• November 1 begins the triduum of Hallowtide, ending with All Souls' Day.
• Medieval Christians believed All Hallows' Eve made the veil between worlds thinnest.
• In some regions Christians visit graveyards on All Hallows' Eve to pray and place flowers and candles.
• Scottish emigration brought the Scottish version of the holiday to Canada before 1870, and to the US after.
• Earliest known ritual begging reference in English-speaking North America: 1911 Kingston, Ontario guising report.
• Canadians spend more on Halloween candy than at any time except Christmas.
• Until 2006 UNICEF collected small change during Canadian trick-or-treating before moving online.
• Quebec offers themed tours of the old city and historic cemeteries.
• In 2014 Arviat, Nunavut moved festivities indoors, cancelling door-to-door trick-or-treating due to polar bears.
• In British Columbia, setting off fireworks at Halloween is a tradition.
• Halloween did not become a US holiday until the 19th century.
• Nearly two million Irish migrated after the Great Irish Famine (1845–1849), bringing the holiday to the US.
• Ruth Edna Kelley wrote The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), the first book-length US history of the holiday.
• Kelley said US Halloween customs are borrowed or adapted from other countries.
• Trick-or-treating is the main event for children in the US and Canada.
• Teenagers and adults more often attend costume parties at friends' homes or nightclubs.
• At the turn of the 20th century Halloween became a night of vandalism and cruelty.
• Around 1912 the Boy Scouts, Boys Clubs and neighborhood groups promoted safer celebrations.
• US commercialization began in the 20th century with Halloween postcards popular between 1905 and 1915.
• Dennison Manufacturing published its first Halloween catalog in 1909.
• Dennison and the Beistle Company pioneered commercially made decorations, especially die-cut paper items.
• German manufacturers exported Halloween figurines to the US between the World Wars.
• Halloween is the second most popular US holiday for decorating, after Christmas.
• The National Confectioners Association reported in 2005 that 80% of American adults planned to give out candy.
• The NCA reported in 2005 that 93% of children planned to go trick-or-treating.
• National Retail Federation: most popular adult costume themes are witch, pirate, vampire, cat, clown.
• Total US Halloween spending is estimated at $8.4 billion.
• An Associated Press survey found 66% of American parents planned to take children trick-or-treating.
• In that survey, 46% identified as Protestant and 24% as Catholic.
• Theme parks stage annual Halloween events such as Halloween Horror Nights and Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
• New York's Village Halloween Parade draws about 50,000 costumed marchers up Sixth Avenue.
• Salem, Massachusetts, site of the witch trials, celebrates throughout October with tours, plays and concerts.
• Lower Hudson Valley venues showcase Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
• Van Cortlandt Manor stages the Great Jack o' Lantern Blaze with thousands of lighted carved pumpkins.
• In 2002 a riot broke out in Madison, Wisconsin's State Street area, requiring mounted police and tear gas.
• Chapel Hill's 2007 downtown party drew about 80,000 people in a town of 54,000.
• In 2008 Chapel Hill mayor Kevin Foy made downtown commuting harder on Halloween.
• In 2014 Keene, New Hampshire Pumpkin Fest crowds rioted; the City Council denied the next permit.
• Keene organizers moved the pumpkin festival to Laconia for 2015.
• Brazil's NGO Amigos do Saci created Saci Day as a Brazilian counterpoint to Halloween.
• The Saci is a mischievous evil character in Brazilian folklore.
• Saci Day is commemorated October 31 and is an official holiday in São Paulo state.
• Despite recognition in São Paulo and other municipalities, few Brazilians celebrate Saci Day.
• In the Dominican Republic Halloween gained popularity through Dominicans returning from the US.
• In Santiago and Santo Domingo children trick-or-treat more; smaller towns largely do not, partly due to religious opposition.
• Tourist areas like Sosua and Punta Cana have adult-oriented Halloween venues.
• Día de Muertos is observed in Mexico and Mexican communities abroad.
• Day of the Dead is a syncretism of Aztec traditions with the Christian Hallowtide.
• Flower decorations, altars and candies are part of the Day of the Dead season.
• Day of the Dead is distinct from Halloween but associated through cross-border popular culture and migration.
• Skeletons are shared imagery; costumes and face-painting are increasingly common in the Mexican festival.
• Chinese celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival in mid-July, floating river lanterns for the dead.
• Halloween is often called Wànshèngjié (All Saints' Festival) in Chinese.
• Chinese Christian churches hold religious Halloween celebrations.
• Non-religious Chinese celebrations are dominated by expatriate Americans and Canadians.
• Costume parties are popular among Chinese young adults, especially in large cities.
• Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park (Halloween Bash) host annual Halloween shows.
• Mainland China is less influenced by Anglo traditions; Halloween is considered "foreign" there.
• Halloween is growing in China, especially among children at private or international schools.
• In Hong Kong, door-to-door trick-or-treating is uncommon because most residents live in high-rise blocks.
• Some expatriate buildings arrange Halloween parties and limited trick-or-treating.
• Street-level trick-or-treating occurs in gated communities like The Beverly Hills and expat areas like Discovery Bay.
• Tsim Sha Tsui's Avenue of the Stars hosts events mimicking the celebration.
• Lan Kwai Fong has held a Halloween celebration and parade for over 20 years.
• Some international schools celebrate "Book-o-ween," with students dressing as literary characters.
• Halloween arrived in Japan mainly through American pop culture.
• As late as 2009, Halloween in Japan was celebrated mainly by expats.
• In October 2012 about 1700 costumed people took part in Osaka's Halloween Festival.
• Costume parties and club events are popular with Japanese young adults.
• Trick-or-treating for Japanese children has taken hold in some areas.
• By the mid-2010s Yakuza were giving snacks and sweets to children.
• Tokyo authorities recently tried to discourage street drinking on Halloween.
• In the Philippines, October 31 to November 2 is a time to remember dead family and friends.
• Many Filipinos travel to hometowns for family gatherings of festive remembrance.
• Trick-or-treating is replacing Pangangaluluwâ, a local analogue of English souling.
• In Pangangaluluwâ, groups go house to house singing for money or food.
• Singers, usually children, carol about souls in Purgatory; the abúloy pays for Masses.
• Householders sometimes gave children suman (rice cakes) along with alms.
• Small items would "mysteriously" disappear and be found in the yard the next morning.
• It was believed ancestors visited the living and manifested by taking an item.
• Philippine Halloween decorations often appear next to Christmas decorations in urban areas.
• Starting 2022, Saudi Arabia celebrated Halloween publicly in Riyadh under Vision 2030.
• Singapore Chinese celebrate Zhong Yuan Jie (Hungry Ghosts Festival) around mid-July.
• Halloween celebrations are becoming more popular in Singapore, influenced by the West.
• In 2012 Singapore had over 19 major Halloween events.
• SCAPE's Museum of Horrors held its fourth scare fest in 2014.
• Universal Studios Singapore hosts Halloween Horror Nights.
• South Korean Halloween popularity stems from English academies, corporate marketing, and Japanese and American influence.
• Halloween is not a public holiday in South Korea but is celebrated around Seoul, especially Itaewon and Hongdae.
• Taiwanese traditionally celebrate Zhong Yuan Pudu Festival during the seventh lunar month, known as Ghost Month.
• Ghost Month is compared to Halloween but has no relation and different meaning.
• Halloween is spreading among young Taiwanese through American pop culture.
• Halloween events are held in Taipei's Xinyi Special District and Shilin District.
• The Tianmu Halloween Festival began in 2009, organized by the Taipei City Office of Commerce.
• The 2-day Tianmu festival attracted more than 240,000 visitors in 2019.
• Tianmu stores place pumpkin lanterns outside to mark trick-or-treat destinations.
• Non-religious, North American-style Halloween is growing in Australia despite not being traditional there.
• Some Australians criticize this intrusion into their culture.
• Many Australians dislike the commercialization and American pop-culture influence.
• Some supporters place Halloween alongside traditions like Saint Patrick's Day.
• Halloween historian Mark Oxbrow wrote Halloween: Pagan Festival to Trick or Treat.
• Oxbrow's research shows Halloween was first celebrated in Australia in Castlemaine, Victoria, in 1858.
• Scottish miners settling Victoria during the Gold Rush brought Halloween traditions.
• Growing numbers of Australians decorate letter boxes to signal children are welcome.
• In 2020 the first Australian Halloween-only magazine, Hallozween, launched.
• In 2021 Australian costume, decoration and pumpkin sales hit an all-time high despite COVID-19.
• Halloween first gained traction in New Zealand in the 1990s.
• New Zealand is among the first countries to celebrate due to its proximity to the International Date Line.
• Halloween in New Zealand is mainly celebrated in urban areas.
• Trick-or-treating has grown popular with minors despite not being a "British or Kiwi event."
• Critics say New Zealand Halloween is overly commercialised, citing The Warehouse.
• Halloween has become more popular in Europe, partly ousting customs like Rübengeistern and Martinisingen.
• Halloween was introduced to most of France in the 1990s.
• In Brittany Halloween was celebrated for centuries as Kalan Goañv (Night of Spirits).
• In Brittany, spirits of the dead return led by the Ankou, collector of souls.
• Halloween was not generally observed in Germany before the 1990s.
• German trick-or-treating is called Süßes sonst gibt's Saures.
• Halloween first took hold in Berlin's Dahlem neighborhood, part of the American Cold War zone.
• Halloween in Germany generates 200 million euros a year across industries.
• German adults celebrate at themed costume parties and clubs; children go trick-or-treating.
• Complaints of Halloween vandalism are rising in Germany, especially from elderly people unfamiliar with it.
• In Greece Halloween is not widely celebrated and is a working day.
• Greek Halloween has somewhat risen in popularity since the early 2000s as a secular celebration.
• Carnival is vastly more popular than Halloween among Greeks.
• For very few, Halloween is considered Greece's fourth most popular festival after Christmas, Easter and Carnival.
• Greek retail businesses, bars, nightclubs and theme parks may organize Halloween parties.
• Greece's boost in Halloween popularity is attributed to western consumerism.
• In Greece, Halloween is celebrated on 31 October only if it falls on a weekend.
• Greek trick-or-treating is not widely popular because Carnival has similar activities.
• Greek Halloween popularity has spread somewhat to the Balkans and Cyprus.
• Greek-Cypriot retailers increasingly sell Halloween merchandise each year.
• On Halloween night in Ireland, adults and children dress as monsters, light bonfires and watch fireworks.
• Derry in Northern Ireland hosts the island's largest organized Halloween celebration, with street carnival and fireworks.
• Irish games include bobbing for apples, with apples, nuts, fruits and coins in a basin of water.
• Players catch items using only their mouths.
• Another Irish game is hands-free eating of an apple hung on a string.
• Divination games are also played at Halloween in Ireland.
• Colcannon is traditionally served on Halloween in Ireland.
• 31 October is the busiest day of the year for Irish Emergency Services.
• Bangers and fireworks are illegal in the Republic of Ireland.
• Fireworks are commonly smuggled from Northern Ireland, where they are legal.
• Bonfires are frequently built around Halloween in Ireland.
• Trick-or-treating is popular among Irish children; parties and events are commonplace.
• Ireland's October Holiday falls on the last Monday of October and may coincide with Halloween.
• In Italy All Saints' Day is a public holiday; November 2 is Tutti i Morti (All Souls' Day).
• Italian children might find small gifts on All Saints or All Souls morning from deceased ancestors.
• In Sardinia, Concas de Mortu are skull-like carved pumpkins with candles inside.
• Halloween is gaining popularity in Italy, with costume parties for young adults.
• Carving skull pumpkins, lighting candles and begging for sweets or nuts also occur in North Italy.
• In Veneto these carved pumpkins were called lumère (lanterns) or suche dei morti (deads' pumpkins).
• Since the fall of Communism in 1989, Halloween has grown in popularity in Poland.
• Halloween in Poland is celebrated particularly among younger people.
• Western tourists and expats in the 1990s introduced costume parties in Polish clubs and homes.
• Door-to-door trick-or-treating is not common in Poland.
• Pumpkin carving is becoming more evident in Poland, following the North American tradition.
• Poland is the biggest pumpkin producer in the European Union.
• Romanians observe the Feast of St. Andrew, patron saint of Romania, on 30 November.
• On St. Andrew's Eve ghosts are said to be about, with divination customs.
• Romanian tourism promotes Dracula and Vlad Tepeș trips around Halloween.
• A major Transylvania Halloween party is held in Sighișoara, Vlad the Impaler's birthplace.
• The Sighișoara party includes magician shows, ballet and The Ritual Killing of a Living Dead.
• The biggest Transylvania Halloween party takes place at Bran Castle, aka Dracula's Castle.
• Romanian Catholic and Orthodox Churches discourage Halloween, urging focus on the Day of the Dead on 1 November.
• In 2015 Romanian religious and nationalist groups called to ban costumes and decorations in schools.
• Halloween parties are popular in Romanian bars and nightclubs.
• In the Orthodox Church, Halloween falls the Saturday after Pentecost, four to five months before western Halloween.
• Russian celebration of western Halloween began in the 1990s around the Soviet downfall.
• Costume and ghoulish parties spread in Russian nightclubs.
• Halloween in Russia is generally celebrated by younger generations, not civic society.
• Russian government and politicians have tried to eliminate Halloween from public celebration since the early 2010s.
• Spanish celebrations include castanyes (roasted chestnuts), panellets, moniatos, Ossos de Sant cake and preserved fruit.
• Moscatell (Muscat) is drunk from porrons in Spain.
• Street vendors sell hot toasted chestnuts wrapped in newspaper around this time.
• Confectioners often organize raffles of chestnuts and preserved fruit.
• The tradition comes from bell ringers who rang bells for the dead into the early morning.
• Friends and relatives helped and ate these foods for sustenance.
• Another version dates the Castanyada to the late 18th century, from old funeral meals.
• The meal symbolized communion with departed souls; prayers were said while chestnuts roasted.
• The festival is depicted with a castanyera: an old lady in peasant clothing and headscarf roasting chestnuts.
• The Castanyada has become a revetlla of All Saints celebrated at home and in the community.
• It is the first of four main school festivals, alongside Christmas, Carnestoltes and St George's Day.
• Galicia has Europe's second largest Halloween or Samain festivals, where Queimada is served.
• A Requiem Mass is widely attended every year at Uppsala Cathedral on All Hallow's Eve.
• Swedish families visit churchyards during Allhallowtide and adorn graves with lit candles and pine wreaths.
• Swedish children's costume-and-candy practice gained popularity around 2005.
• American Halloween traditions meet skepticism among older Swedes over tradition conflicts and commercialism.
• In Sweden, All Saint's Day is observed on the Saturday between October 31 and November 6; Halloween on October 31.
• In Switzerland Halloween became popular in 1999 but is on the wane, most popular with party-going young adults.
• Switzerland has "festival overload" and prefers traditional elements like Fasnacht noise and masks.
• In the past, English families stayed up late on All Souls' Eve eating little soul cakes.
• At midnight there was solemn silence, candles in every room and a glass of wine for souls.
• Souling originated in Great Britain and Ireland and is seen as the origin of modern North American trick-or-treating.
• Souling continued in parts of England as late as the 1930s, with children singing and praying for cakes or money.
• Trick-or-treating and other Halloween celebrations are extremely popular in England.
• The name Halloween is first attested in the 16th century as a Scottish shortening of All-Hallow-Even.
• Dumfries poet John Mayne's 1780 poem noted Halloween pranks.
• Robert Burns was influenced by Mayne and portrayed customs in his 1785 poem Halloween.
• Burns said Halloween is a night when witches, devils and mischief-making beings are abroad.
• Earliest record of Scottish guising is 1895, with masqueraders carrying scooped turnip lanterns for cakes, fruit and money.
• Scottish children who knock on neighbors' doors sing or tell stories for sweets or money.
• A traditional Scottish Halloween game is apple "dooking" or dunking from a bucket of water.
• Another game is eating a treacle- or jam-coated scone hanging on a string while blindfolded.
• Traditional Scottish divination includes carving an apple in one strip and tossing the peel over the shoulder.
• The peel is believed to land in the shape of the future spouse's first initial.
• In Kilmarnock, Halloween is also celebrated on the last Friday of October, called "Killieween."
• Halloween is a popular traditional occasion on the Isle of Man, known as Hop-tu-Naa.
• In Saint Helena, Halloween is actively celebrated along the American model with ghosts, devils and witches.
• Saint Helena uses imitation pumpkins because pumpkin harvest season is not near Halloween there.
• Trick-or-treating is widespread in Saint Helena, and party venues entertain adults.