Halloween is a shortened word form of the word All-hallow-eve. It falls a day ahead of All Saints Day. In various countries of the world, it is celebrated in typical fashion and in some places known by different names.
In Canada, like in the U.S, trick-or-treat forms part of the celebrations. This forms the main activity in most countries too. Children disguise themselves in costumes of ghosts, vampires and other evil beings. They then go from door to door begging for treats in the form of chocolates, candies, nuts, and stickers.
In Ireland, Halloween coincides with an autumn festival called Samhain. Children are given a weeklong holiday. . A traditional game called Puicini is played here. A table is set before a blindfolded person who is asked to choose one of the many bowls. The positions of the bowls are shuffled and rearranged. Each bowl has different contents, which signify different things. Thus, death, emigration, wealth, and marriage are foretold. In the Irish city of Derry, a stunning display of fireworks lights the night sky.
Another piece of Irish Halloween is the baking of fruitcake bread called barmbrack. Traditionally the barmbrack contained objects hidden inside and it was used in a prediction game. It could mean something important to the receiver-marriage, domestic violence, bad luck, or riches. Today, the barmbrack is made commercially. The Colcannon or the Halloween meal made mainly of mashed potatoes, cabbage, butter, and salt is enjoyed by the Irish on this Day.
In Scotland, the children who wear costumes are called guisers and these costumes, according to Scottish traditions protect the children from evil souls. Since the 1970s, the Scottish children carry a Halloween lantern made of pumpkin, while earlier they carried a tumshie or turnip lantern. Some neighbors arrange dookin games. The children would have to put their faces into basins containing water, keep their hands firmly behind their backs and try to lift up apples one by one by biting into it.
A fascinating tradition held in Wales is a bonfire called Coel Coeth. Family members throw a stone with their name on it and if they found the stone with their name the next day, they would be alive to celebrate the next Halloween. In England, Halloween celebrations include trick-or-treat, bonfires, costume parties, firework displays children only trick and treat from households that are decorated.
Many other countries, influenced by American culture, have begun to celebrate Halloween too. Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean Islands, the Netherlands, Japan, Germany, and Malta have all begun to celebrate Halloween the American way. Halloween celebrations are being Americanized in many places that have rich traditions. A conscious effort is underway to preserve these traditions and stop them from being too commercialized.
