Still have a hangover from your Halloween party?
Hopefully you don't have any trace of make-up on anymore.
In our experience, we had difficulty removing the heavy eye make-up we wore during the Witch and Zombie days.
Thank goodness for wipes and of course creams!
Let's go around the world and see how other countries celebrated it.
China
In China, they celebrate the Ghost Festival or Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month.
Activities such as preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense and burning joss paper are done throughout the country.
Meals (mostly vegetarian dishes) are served on the table with the empty seats for each of the dearly departed.
England
Aside from dressing up and carving the usual pumpkin, a game called Apple Bobbing or Duck-apple is played by kids and adults.
The game is very simple.
Contestants need to take one bite from an apple. Sounds easy?
Biting an apple is a pice of cake but not if it's placed in a tub filled with water and you cannot use your hands to grab it.
Germany
They have an old traditional custom that is similar to Halloween, the Martinstag or St. Martin's Day.
It is celebrated with costumes and lantern procession by kids.
This celebration is in honor of Martin who cut his red cloak to share with a beggar and who hid in a stable of filled with geese because he felt he didn't deserve to be a bishop.
Thus, preparing Martinsgans (baked goose) is a big part of the event.
Ireland
It has been said that the celebration of Halloween started with the Irish back in 100AD.
At that time, Halloween was a pagan festival called "Samhain" by the Celts.
Fast forward to present, some of the Irish Halloween traditions are still very much intact today.
These activities include pumpkin carving, doing Trick or treat (including games), bonfires and having the Barnbrack.
What is a Barnbrack? It is a traditional Halloween cake which is a fruit bread with some things inside it like coin, ring, rag and thimble.
The cake is then sliced and distributed to each member of the family.
Each item signifies a different thing.
The rag means you'd be poor; the coin conveys the opposite.
The thimble means you'd never marry (which I think almost noone wants) and the ring, of course, is the happily-ever-after.
United States of America
We all know how that they really celebrate Halloween with a bang!
Take a look at how the city of Denver made this year's Halloween extra special.
Source:
http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/ghost.htm
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Halloween/why.htm
http://www.german-way.com/halloween-in-germany.html
http://www.goireland.com/blog/article/halloween-in-ireland.html
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