During Halloween houses are decorated, children go in search of sweets, adults transform into the images of various monsters. Horror and mysticism- it’s the atmosphere in which the whole world around is immersed.

“Trick or treat?” – the question which everyone hears on this day. But how did everything start? 

The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. Over time, this tradition turned into our usual Halloween.

A lot of people think that Halloween is celebrated only in the US. A little bit fewer people know that Halloween is also celebrated in Canada and Ireland. Even fewer people know about Halloween in Mexico. And a pretty small number of people know that Halloween is celebrated in European countries, such as England, France, Italy, Portugal, Scotland, and Transylvania 

The US. Many Americans celebrate the traditions of Halloween by dressing in costumes and telling tales of witches and ghosts. Pumpkins are carved into glowering jack-o’-lanterns. Children parade from house to house, knocking on doors and calling out “Trick or treat!” hoping to have their bags filled with candy.

Canada. Popular activities at parties include watching horror films and trying to make fellow guests jump in fright. Many children go out to play trick-or-treat. They dress up as ghosts, witches, skeletons, or other characters and visit homes in their neighborhood.

Ireland. With such a cultural influence, Halloween today in Ireland is celebrated very much the same as in the States. Adults and children dress up as witches, ghosts, zombies, and all kinds of macabre figures and go to fancy dress parties or go out trick or treating

Halloween is celebrated among Mexican children who wear costumes when they go trick-or-treating to people’s homes, asking for candy. When they trick-or-treat at each door, they shout, “we want Halloween” (queremos Halloween).

Throughout Britain, Halloween has traditionally been celebrated by children’s games such as bobbing for apples in containers full of water, telling ghost stories, and the carving of faces into hollowed-out vegetables such as swedes and turnips.

For Halloween, many French children go trick or treating or simply organize parties at home. The French love to wear costumes and Halloween is a great occasion to dress as a zombie, vampire, or other scary creature. Some people also watch horror movies with their friends or family to celebrate Halloween.

Carved pumpkins, costumed kids running through the piazzas, and posters for Halloween parties at local restaurants or clubs, can be seen in cities throughout Italy. The celebrations are so prevalent, it’s fair to say that Halloween has been embraced by Italian culture. Although Halloween isn’t particularly popular in most of Italy, the small island of Sardinia has long been practicing traditions similar to those found in the United States. In some parts of the island, children go door to door asking for sweets on behalf of souls stuck in purgatory. Some Sardinians also display jack-o-lanterns, known locally as “Concas de Mortu” (or heads of the dead). 

Portugal. While trick-or-treating isn’t a typical Portuguese tradition, children here do participate in a tradition known as Pão-por-Deus (bread for God) on the morning of November 1. Kids go door to door (without costumes) and when neighbors answer, they cry out “Pão-por-Deus” to receive breads, trinkets, or candy.

Halloween in Scotland is all about the supernatural, witches, spirits, and fire. … Whilst bonfires to scare away the undead are still lit in some areas of Scotland, more usually “neep lanterns” (turnip lanterns) are made by scooping out a turnip and cutting through the skin to create eyes, nose, and mouth.

Over the years, countless numbers of fearless tourists travel to Transylvania to celebrate Halloween with costume parties, story-telling, and actors playing out Dracula-inspired scenes. While some Romanians observe Halloween on October 31, St Andrew’s Night (November 30) is when the garlic is brought out as a form of protection against ghosts – a traditional superstitious act of fun that is still practiced today.