All Hallows’ Eve

If you ask someone for a quick rundown on the spookiest night of the year, it’s safe to say that you will end up with a lot of carved pumpkins, trick or treating, and a healthy dose of spiders, witches, and skeletons.

All Hallows’ Eve, commonly known as Halloween, has acquired somewhat of a cheesy reputation over the years, in large part due to the fact that Hollywood has often used the night as a setting for teenage horror movies filled to the brim with terrible college humor. 

But the origins of Halloween are far more significant and ancient than what a bunch of B movies might suggest. It is said that the festival originated from a Celtic celebration named Samhain, a night which marked the end of the harvest season, and the coming of the darker and colder winter that would likely claim its fair share of lives. Another theory is that the festival is Christian in origin, and was the day in which adherents of the religion remembered their ancestors and honored the departed.

Regardless of where it really came from, the celebrations are hugely popular around the world, and many countries have put their own twist on it. Here are three of them that stand out for one reason or another.

Day of Dracula: Although the Count Dracula from Bram Stoker’s seminal novel is the one that got all the fame and fortune, the real Dracula was a prince called Vlad Tepes, ruler of a region named Wallachia that lied within modern day Romania. As one might imagine, he was no vampire and had nothing to do with Halloween beyond having a rather gruesome and bloody reputation, but tourists love the idea, and sometimes that is more than enough.

Fireside Chairs: In the former Czechoslovakia (now two distinct countries that still share certain cultural aspects), chairs are placed in front of the fireside on the night of Halloween, one for each living member of the family, and and extra chair for the spirit of each one of them. If there is a bit of rogue wind that gets one of those chairs moving, the night could easily end with a few heart attacks.

La fête d’Halloween: Funnily enough, the French never even celebrated Halloween until the aforementioned dodgy Hollywood flicks made it across the ocean during the mid 90s. But the French always love a good party (don’t we all) and it was the perfect excuse to dress up, knock down a bit of wine, and go a bit bananas. Although France is undeniably one of the cradles of western culture, with countless contributions that have shaped the world we live in, when it comes to Halloween, they bought the American version of it right out of the sales brochure. Who can blame them, spooky kitsch never gets old.

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