U.S. Halloween traditions: Is it all about the candy?
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Trick-or-Treating the American Way

My first Halloween life lesson was at age 10. My tiger costume was purrfect. Visions of the candy haul were dancing in my head. My friends and I could get a month’s stash of sugar and chocolate in a few hours.

Without remorse, we judged each house on the quality of the treats. Apples and pennies were disdained. And even the grouchiest neighbors gained popularity points if they offered the coveted large-size chocolate bar instead of a few meager kernels of candy corn.

On this particular Halloween, my friends and I had a shorter time period for trick-or-treating since there was a neighborhood party. We decided to divide up the street and ask for treats for the other team as well as our own. That way, we could double our loot quickly.

The purrfect Halloween tiger costume
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Everything was going well until that fateful knock on the door of Mrs. Fisher’s house (the high school English teacher).

When I explained our time constraints and the clever strategy of asking for treats for ourselves as well as for the other team, Mrs. Fisher parked her hands on her hips, looked down sternly, and posed the moral question of the evening.

“Do you really think that’s fair?” she asked (rhetorically), becoming more imposing by the moment. I could not help but shake in my furry tiger boots.

Oh I see. (Or at least she wanted me to see.) This must not be ALL about candy. There must be something more. I slunk away empty handed, my tiger tail between my legs.

Cultural traditions from around the world
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Diversity of Traditions

Cultural traditions abound at this time of year, when Halloween, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day converge.

Wherever you land on the globe, you’ll find a melange of traditions—religious and cultural—that invite ghosts and goblins, honor saints, or pay respect to the dead during one or all of these three days.

La Toussaint (All Saints’ Day)

On Halloween in France, you will find some children in costumes, but their trick-or-treating takes place at the local shops for a small treat or at their close neighbors and friends.

Trick-or-treating French style at Martin’s Boulangerie on the Ile St Louis in Paris
© Meredith Mullins

The emphasis is on the religious holiday called la Toussaint (All Saints) on November 1—celebrating all the saints, particularly those who do not have a day of their own. People go to church or visit the local cemeteries to remember their family and friends who have died.

On All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, the gravesites are busy, and filled with flowers, with people paying tribute to those they have lost.

The Saint Pierre de Montmartre Cemetery (open only on All Saints’ Day)
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A special place to visit is the cemetery of Saint Pierre de Montmartre (also called Cimetière du Calvaire), a tiny square of earth in the shadow of Sacré Coeur.

It’s the smallest and oldest churchyard cemetery in Paris, open only on November 1. The sign says this one-day-only opportunity is because the graves are so fragile. Erosion Naturelle. An apt description of death, it seems.

El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
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Day of the Dead

In Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a three-day festival culminating on All Souls’ Day (November 2).

Children are celebrated on one day (called Día de los Inocentes or Día de los Angelitos) and adults on the next (often with altars constructed to display photographs, memorabilia, and flowers in their honor. There are parades, bands, candy, and fun.

A warm path for the returning souls.
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Food is left for the dead, as it is believed their spirits come back to celebrate with the living. Candles light the way home for these souls, and yellow and orange flowers, particularly marigolds, warm the path for the spirits to return.

Tombstones are cleaned and decorated and, often, families picnic near the graves of their loved ones. Toys are brought for dead children, as well as gifts for adults (from the deceased’s favorite candies to a diversionary bottle of tequila).

The good things in life . . . for the living and the visiting spirits
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A Celebration of Past and Present

These traditions around the world are not meant to be sad. The October 31 through November 2 days are to remember those we have loved, to weave together the past and present, and to celebrate life.

And if we happen to get a little candy in the process, all the better.

Happy Halloween, All Saints, All Souls, and El Día de los Muertos.

And, thank you, Mrs. Fisher, for a life lesson at an early age.

For more information on Halloween traditions around the world, visit Language Connections.

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