Three Halloween-Like Festivals You Might Not Know About
Monday October 29, 2007 8:31 AM
Halloween, one of the world's oldest holidays, is still celebrated in several countries around the globe. In the United States, Canada and Ireland, Halloween receives similar treatment: jack-o-lanterns, costumes, trick-or-treating, candy, ghosts and ghouls. Several other countries, however, honor their own Halloween-like traditions a little differently.
El Dia de Los Muertos, The Day of the Dead, is celebrated in Spain, Mexico and Latin America and consists of a three-day celebration that begins on the night of October 31st and ends on November 2nd, All Souls' Day. Families build altars, called ofrendas, in their homes for dead relatives who are believed to return to the earth during this time. Families decorate the altars and leave a deceased person's favorite foods, drinks, candy and photographs. To attract the deceased relatives burn incense and candles to lure a spirit back to its home. A basin of water and a towel are also placed on the altar so that the spirit can wash before and after eating the offerings. In addition, the gravesites of the deceased are cleaned up by trimming weeds and repairing stones. The stones are decorated with flowers and streamers. On November 2nd, living relatives will gather in cemeteries to tell stories about those that have passed on, also to dance, play music, drink and picnic around the graves of their dead family members.
In England, November 5th is known as Guy Fawkes Day and festivities include fireworks, bonfires and burning effigies. It's not Halloween — in fact, the English haven't really celebrated Halloween since Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation. This holiday celebrates the execution of an infamous English traitor — you guessed it, Guy Fawkes. On November 5th in 1606, Fawkes was put to death after conspiring to blow up England's Parliament Building while King James was inside — a conspiracy known as the Gunpowder Plot. The original Guy Fawkes Day was celebrated right after his execution. Bonfires, which were then called bone fires, were set up to burn effigies and symbolic bones of the Catholic pope. Two centuries later the effigies of the pope were replaced with those of Guy Fawkes. In some parts of England, children walk the streets asking for "a penny for the guy" while showing off their own Guy dollies; they keep the money to purchase fireworks. Sound a bit like trick-or-treating? Lewes, in the South East of England, is well-known for its festivities — thousands of people partake in the celebration every year. These traditions crossed the seas to British colonies — "Pope Day," as it was called, was celebrated by the pilgrims at Plymouth — and are still celebrated in New Zealand and Newfoundland today.
In China, Teng Chieh and The Feast of the Hungry Ghosts are celebrated. During Teng Chieh on February 23rd, families leave food, drinks and gifts at gravesites and in front of photographs. Lighting lanterns is also a common tradition. The purpose of Teng Chieh is to welcome the dead back to earth. August's Feast of the Hungry Ghosts, on the other hand, attempts to pacify spirits who did not die proper deaths or were not buried properly. Living relatives offer food, drinks and gifts to satisfy the dead and keep them from causing trouble for the living. Chinese belief holds that that these spirits feel resentful about their deaths (the worst death being murder) or improper burials and in order to keep them from seeking revenge, they must be appeased. Gifts are made of paper and represent objects that would be familiar to the spirit so that these spirits feel welcome during their momentary return to Earth.
