# Halloween in your country **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 31, 2015, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237 "2015-10-31T05:44:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/1 "2015-10-31T05:44:24Z")
Got some questions for non-American Dopers: –Does your country celebrate Halloween at all? How much? –Is trick or treating a thing, or costumes? –Are there any anti-Halloween movements, religious or otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/2 "2015-10-31T06:40:45Z")
Panama is pretty Americanized for a Latin American country, so there are a lot of Halloween decorations around. But it’s not nearly as big as in the US. I don’t think trick-or-treating is very big. Some kids from my apartment building come around the building and that’s about it. I have never heard of any anti-Halloween movements. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/3 "2015-10-31T06:55:31Z")
Here in regional Aus, the kids are out for lollies. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/4 "2015-10-31T09:26:36Z")
Getting more and more americanised, unfortunately. So much merchandise in the shops, it’s annoying. Lots of Halloween parties, some trick or treating going on. My neighbour is doing the right thing: He dresses up as Santa and forces the kids to sing carols when they knock on his door. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/5 "2015-10-31T10:39:13Z")
Here in Taiwan, Halloween is being driven by the kindergartens which are looking for an event. Stores do some promotion and you can buy princess and super hero type costumes for the kids. There are a few event-type trick-or-treating but it’s not done out of that. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/6 "2015-10-31T10:58:58Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > Getting more and more americanised, unfortunately. So much merchandise in the shops, it’s annoying. What does a traditional UK halloween look like? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/7 "2015-10-31T11:18:03Z")
Didn’t exist when I was young. Totally a US import via Hollywood. Hate it. Commercial bullshit. Social imposition bordering blackmail. Fuck it and everyone who rode a broomstcik on the back of it. ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/8 "2015-10-31T11:19:30Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > What does a traditional UK halloween look like? From the perspective of a guy who doesn’t have any kids, Halloween in England isn’t much of a big deal, at least not round my area. We might get a few trick or treaters, but they’re all very young kids, and some years we don’t get any. Very few people put decorations up. Not many pumpkins are sold at the local supermarket. It’s pretty dull, to be honest. One of the main TV channels _might_ do a scary movie night, but that’s pretty much it. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/9 "2015-10-31T14:24:23Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Didn’t exist when I was young. Totally a US import […] That describes the situation here. It does feel a bit stupid that we apparently have to do everything the Americans do. But I am reminded of that [scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExWfh6sGyso) from Life of Brian. “What have the Americans ever done for us?” “The Internet. GPS. Beat the Germans, and kept the Russians out. Rock music. Movies and TV shows. Hamburgers. They’re the reason why you can travel anywhere in the world and people understand at least some English. Did I mention the Internet?” “Well, yes. But apart from that, what have the Americans ever done for us?” 'Cause I do love America, I really do. Maybe some cultural imperialism (completely self-inflicted on our part anyway, it’s not like anyone came over here and made us adopt American Halloween or else) is worth it. Yup. I, for one, welcome our new pumpkin overlords. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/10 "2015-10-31T14:34:33Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > Getting more and more americanised, unfortunately. So much merchandise in the shops, it’s annoying. > > Lots of Halloween parties, some trick or treating going on. > > My neighbour is doing the right thing: He dresses up as Santa and forces the kids to sing carols when they knock on his door. 😃 So starting Xmas in October is “the right thing”. Wow. You’d be right at home in the USofA then. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/11 "2015-10-31T15:00:50Z")
Halloween provides a type of holiday that doesn’t seem to be provided by any others in American culture. If it’s the same way in other countries, I can see why they choose to adopt it. I mean, it’s the holiday where we are intentionally scary. Where fear is embraced, not shunned. It’s a communal holiday that lets kids go out and meet their neighbors. It’s a masked holiday where you can pretend to be someone you are not. If you don’t have holidays that fit these cultural aspects, then Halloween is a good excuse to do them. And, if you do, maybe having another one in this specific arrangement is fun. ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/12 "2015-10-31T15:52:47Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > So starting Xmas in October is “the right thing”. Wow. You’d be right at home in the USofA then. Don’t be ridiculous! Starting Christmas in October is not the right thing. Being subversive and traumatising kids who are embracing a colonial holiday tradition is! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/13 "2015-10-31T16:03:58Z")
Halloween has caught on big time in Thailand but only recently. There was a time when the only Thais who knew about it were those who had studied in the West. I recall one Halloween night 20 years ago or so, the wife and I were on a bus in Bangkok, a couple of guys boarded dressed ghoulishly for the occasion and ended up alarming the entire bus. A handful of bars might have offered some sort of drink special and taped up a couple of cardboard bats, but that was about it. But gradually over the years, it’s become known as a fun holiday. The bargirls really get into it, many of them dressing up as sexy witches and zombies, which is quite game of them, considering how superstitious they tend to be. But all sorts of public venues now host Halloween parties. There is no trick-or-treating here. Actually, I have heard of it in apartment blocks with a heavy proportion of farang (Western) residents, but that’s it. It’s largely seen by Thais and farangs alike as just a good excuse for an all-night booze-up. There is no ant-Halloween movement here. Thais like a good ghost story. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/14 "2015-10-31T17:43:58Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > Didn’t exist when I was young. Totally a US import via Hollywood. Hate it. Commercial bullshit. Social imposition bordering blackmail. Fuck it and everyone who rode a broomstcik on the back of it. To be fair, we got it from the Irish. So you can bloody well blame them!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/15 "2015-10-31T18:37:10Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > Getting more and more americanised, unfortunately. So much merchandise in the shops, it’s annoying. > > Lots of Halloween parties, some trick or treating going on. > > My neighbour is doing the right thing: He dresses up as Santa and forces the kids to sing carols when they knock on his door. 😃 > [@kayT](#): > > So starting Xmas in October is “the right thing”. Wow. You’d be right at home in the USofA then. > [@Uniqueorn](#): > > Don’t be ridiculous! Starting Christmas in October is not the right thing. Being subversive and traumatising kids who are embracing a colonial holiday tradition is! Do you know any kids that were traumatized by Halloween? I sure don’t. Overdosed on sugar maybe, but not traumatized. Even little kids know it’s pretend fear, as far as I could tell. And “colonial”? What does that even mean? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/16 "2015-10-31T18:59:02Z")
Except for a few hipsters doing it ironically, Halloween isn’t celebrated in Israel. We already have Purim for the costumes, and there isn’t any great societal need for the creepy-crawly stuff. ---
**Author:** ![journeyman\_southpaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5e9695/32.png) [@journeyman\_southpaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/journeyman_southpaw)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/17 "2015-10-31T19:00:51Z")
Halloween in Canada is identical to the U.S. in both popularity and what people do for it. When I was in South Korea I saw people were aware of it but it was not too popular. Some decorations but little in the way of costumes. Many kids go to after-school English academies and learn about Halloween and have little parties there, but that’s about it. It’s a different story in the foreigner district of Seoul where all the expat bars have Halloween-themed costume nights (I saw prostitutes in the street in costumes as well). ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloween-in-your-country/736237/18 "2015-10-31T19:07:09Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > Getting more and more americanised, unfortunately. So much merchandise in the shops, it’s annoying. > > Lots of Halloween parties, some trick or treating going on. > > My neighbour is doing the right thing: He dresses up as Santa and forces the kids to sing carols when they knock on his door. 😃 > [@kayT](#): > > So starting Xmas in October is “the right thing”. Wow. You’d be right at home in the USofA then. > [@Uniqueorn](#): > > Don’t be ridiculous! Starting Christmas in October is not the right thing. Being subversive and traumatising kids who are embracing a colonial holiday tradition is! > [@kayT](#): > > Do you know any kids that were traumatized by Halloween? I sure don’t. Overdosed on sugar maybe, but not traumatized. Even little kids know it’s pretend fear, as far as I could tell. And “colonial”? What does that even mean? Sorry, I thought it was quite obvious that I meant dressing up as Santa on Halloween and forcing kids to sing carols is the right and traumatising thing to do. And colonial refers to the former colonies, i.e. the US. And if you are in the right state of mind, this was really funny.