So, my roommate Adrian and I finally settled on the idea of throwing a vampire party for Halloween 2013. My girlfriend Aaliyah is super excited that we’re not doing reruns of Poltergeist (again)! She’s gone and got herself a Lady Dracula Halloween costume, while I have a matching cape and a mini-cape for Korg,

Amidst all this excitement, Adrian and I started chatting about the different ways Halloween is celebrated around the world. It’s so interesting to see how other cultures have their own “version” of the Halloween spirit!

[dreamwork cats=114,115]
Click on a card to send.

Mexico celebrates “Dia de los Muertos”, or the “Day of the Dead”, which happens after Halloween on November 2nd. The “Day of the Dead” has indigenous origins that go back hundreds of years to an Aztec festival dedicated to the Goddess Mictecacihuatl, also known as the Lady of the Dead.

When the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs in the 16th century, this holiday evolved and merged with Catholic traditions. That’s why today, the Day of the Dead is celebrated in connection with Halloween, but retains the colorful blend of native folk customs and Mexican traditions.

So instead of Jack-o’-lantern, you have dressed up Catrina dolls, which is a female skeleton dressed up in upper-class European dresses! People also decorate graves of the deceased with flowers and food so the dead can be lured to return on the day.

Celebrating spooky holidays with different traditions is a beautiful way to be united across different cultures. So let’s come together in this scary season and send a Halloween ecard and a Day of the Dead ecard to all our friends and family!

Do you come from a culture that celebrates Halloween differently? Tell me in the comments, I’m so curious to find out more!