THE C L A C K A M A S P R IN T
I
OCT. 29, 2 0 1 4
I V O L . 48 ISSUE 3
Halloween around
the world
by Megan McCoy
t’s just a matter of days before costumes come to life, candy gets dis
tributed and adults party the night away. Here in the United States the
holiday is all about having a good time, whether that means getting
dressed up as your favorite character and going out, or staying in with
a bucket full of fun-sized candy and a scary movie playing. Countries
around the world celebrate this holiday in a style all their own.
I
Irma Bjerre, the Clackamas Community College study abroad director, said in
Colombia, there are a few similarities to how the holiday is celebrated. Chil
dren still get dressed up as their favorite characters and go trick-or-treating,
but according to Bjerre, the children don’t go to strangers’ houses. They trick-
or-treat strictly at the houses of
friends and family members.
Mexico has a holiday close to
the same time as Halloween
called Dia De Los Muertos or
“Day of the Dead.” This holiday
takes place from Oct. 31 to Nov.
2 and is focused around honor
ing loved ones who have died.
“Families believe that the spir
it of their dead loved ones will
return from the underworld to
visit with the family for a day,
and the spirits console the liv
ing for their loss,” said Enrique
Farrera, an academic advising
specialist from the community
center.
"... spirits of
their dead
loved ones will
return from the
underworld..."
He also said that decorations
include items such as marigold flowers and pictures of loved ones who died,
“paintings or sculptures of religious figures such as the. Virgin Mary, Jesus,
saints and the crucifix are common,” said Farrera. Traditional foods eaten over
the course of the celebration include pastries, pumpkin, tamales, enchiladas,
mole, chocolate and sugar skulls.
Universal Pictures
Peruvian Halloween is much more restrictive than in the US. Maria Dixon,
an enrollment services specialist from the Roger Rook building who used to
live in Peru, said that due to the heavy religious influence, it is completely u n
heard of to dress up as something scary. If a child wishes to dress up, it has to
be something light hearted, such as “a princess or a pirate,” and even then it’s
st i l l looked down upon. Dixon and her sisters never dressed up for the holiday.
“We would be sleeping outside!” she joked. Trick-or-treating is also not some
thing children do there.
Halloween is not a traditional holiday in Germany, according to Anton Loeb-’*’
bert, an exchange student attending CCC. The holiday is starting to branch
out from America. Loebbert says that not a lot of people celebrate it, but “if
we do it’s probably just a party where you get dressed as something scary” He
also mentioned that some children have picked up the trick-or-treating tradi
tion but there is another holiday later in November that is very similar called .
Saint Martin’s Day. Loebbert explained Saint Martin’s Day is an event where
people go around a neighborhood and sing carols to each neighbor in return
for candy.
In just a few short days people from around the world will be celebrating Hal
loween in their own unique fashion. W hether it’s in America, Mexico, Peru,
Germany or any other country, it is bound to be a good time.