Names for Halloween Around the World

Some countries celebrate a similar form of Halloween around the world – with costumes, candy and trick-or-treating. But many countries also have their own unique traditions.

The word Halloween comes from Eallra Hālgena ǣfen – an Old English phrase that later became All Hallow’s Eve.

Find out what people call their own celebrations like Halloween around the world.

Ireland

Many familiar Halloween traditions around the world came about because of Oíche Shamhna (pronounced “ee-hah how-nah”), meaning “November Night” in the Gaelic language.

One night in this month, many Irish villages held autumn agricultural festivals – and believed that after dark, the dead would come back to visit the living.

We wear masks on Halloweens around the world largely because the Irish did. They hoped to calm the visiting evil spirits – or to just blend in with them!

England

The British celebrate All Souls’ Day on November 2. The name comes from the legend that dead souls come back to visit their former homes the night before.

Like other Halloweens around the world, children go from door to door on this evening to ask for food. They get “soul cakes” – small cakes or buns – in return for a song or a prayer.

Mexico

Many Mexican children celebrate Halloween traditions from around the world like trick-or-treating. Children say, “¡Noche de Brujas, Halloween!” (‘Witches’ Night, Halloween!’) and, “¡Queremos Halloween!” (We want Halloween!).

More prevalent is El Día de Muertos, the “Day of the Dead” in Spanish. On the first day of November, families decorate altars with mementos and favorite treats of relatives that have passed away.

India

Many Hindus on the Indian subcontinent celebrate Pitru Paksha, meaning “fortnight of the ancestors” in Hindi. Also known as Mahalaya, the celebration lasts for 16 lunar days sometime in September or October.

In similar practices to Halloweens around the world, men give donations of food to deceased relatives.

This food includes kheer (a dessert made of rice and milk), lapsi (a wheat porridge) and pumpkin – a staple of Halloween around the world.

Lebanon

Some Lebanese celebrate the Christian holiday St. Barbara’s Day, or Eid-il-Burbara in Arabic. On December 4, children wear costumes and collect food in exchange for a song, like in many versions of Halloween around the world.

Neighbors hand out burbara – a pudding made of boiled barley, sugar, raisins, and pomegranate seeds.

Japan

According to Buddhist custom, some Japanese celebrate the Obon Festival to honor the dead, just as many Halloween traditions around the world do.

Families light lanterns and float them in water to show the souls how to make their way back home.

Obon is a shorted form of the Sanskrit word “ullambana,” meaning “hanging upside down.” This hanging is meant to impart the pain of the dead that the living must soothe.

Although they’re different than Halloween, these traditions around the world all share a dedication to spirits – and a sense of celebration!