Halloween Around the World
As digital nomads, we've had the chance to see a TON of different versions of halloween across the world. So here’s our list of some of the scariest/funniest/spookiest traditions we’ve seen in our travels!
🇰🇷🧟♀️SOUTH KOREA
Cristi spent last Halloween in Seoul, where she found that the "place to be" was in Itaewon, the hip "international" neighborhood. Everyone went ALL OUT dressing up in crazy elaborate GORY costumes and spent all night out clubbing. There's also a full-blown "zombie festival" where you can enjoy an immersive post-apocalyptic experience. Sounds TERRIFYING and we LOVE it.
🇮🇪🔥IRELAND
Hayley currently in Dublin, has heard a lot about ancient Celtic / Pagan rituals lately, including a festival called Samhain ( which means "end of the light half of the year")... apparently that's "the birthplace of modern Halloween" !! People there are celebrating with bonfires, games, and traditional foods! TBD if the food is any good.. not sure if Hayley can tell after all that beer!
🇯🇵👩🏻🎤JAPAN
Drea isn't the first one on our team to celebrate Halloween in Tokyo and that's no surprise. You KNOW the Japanese are doing it right! Sailor Moon babes & “Kawaii” characters galore! The main hotspots for the event are definitely Shibuya and Roppongi but be careful, the crowds are MASSIVE! Get strategic about your plans or you'll end up waiting in line all night just to get into a party.
🇲🇽💀MEXICO/SPAIN
Did you know the famous “Día de los Muertos” isn't on Oct 31, but rather Nov 2nd? It's actually also celebrated in other Latin American countries including Spain. Jorge, who is a native spaniard, tells us the “Día de todos los santos” celebration and traditions vary across the different regions of Spain, but in general, it’s a day for honoring the deceased (who are "returning to their earthly homes") by decorating altars with their favorite candy, flowers, photographs, foods, drinks, etc!
🇮🇹🎃ITALY
Similarly, in Italy things also get a bit religious and sentimental. Folks there will remember and celebrate loved ones who have past away, but sometimes they also carve pumpkins! –Concas de Mortu– which means "heads of the dead."
🇷🇴🧛🏻♂️ROMANIA
We haven’t yet spent Halloween in Romania, the home of “Vlad The Impaler” AKA: Dracula, but we did go check out Bran Castle.. and GUESS WHAT. Apparently you can enjoy a whole Halloween experience there! Food, dancing, and SO MANY VAMPIRES. Sounds fun right?
🏴💣ENGLAND
Though they’ve adopted the US traditions by now, you might be surprised to learn that Halloween was totally NOT a thing in the UK for a very long time. They did celebrate the execution of a traitor tho… 🤭 AKA: Guy Fawkes. He was a Catholic guy who apparently tried to blow up England’s parliament building / remove the Protestant King James from power. People would “celebrate” with –I kid you not– BONE fires.. burning BONES – and yes that IS where the word comes from.
🇺🇸🦸🏻♀️USA
Of course, our team has also often spent the holiday across many US cities: New York, Miami & New Orleans being our favorites! Each one has it's special unique charm. In NYC you’ll see kids trick-or-treating at hardware stores (or literally any store/shop/bar/restaurant/bodega), Miami is arguably the best for "all-out clubbing" at places like LIV or nightclubs with a more “low key vibe” like Sophie’s, and with all its voodoo history, you can def expect to get somewhat bewitched in New Orleans.