Halloween is upon us. On 31 October, thousands of children and adults around the world will don strange costumes and wander the streets. Tricks will played, treats will be given …. but will Australians ever really embrace this day?
I love Halloween and in one form or another have celebrated it all my life. However, many in Australia do not. Descriptions such as “glammed-up ghoulishness”, “over-commercialized clap trap”, “a celebration of lollies and terror”, “Americanization by stealth” all spring to mind. So when a friend from the United States asked me whether Australians celebrate Halloween like they do, I had to tell her that sadly, the short answer is no. 
Her question though, prompted me to let you know why I believe it is a positive experience for kids and also my theory on the reason it isn’t celebrated with much enthusiasm Down Under.
Samhain … All Hallows Eve … Halloween…
Australia’s lack of uptake regarding Halloween is understandable if you look at its history and our geographic location.
Halloween can be traced back to Celtic and Gaelic times and a festival known as Samhain. Then, it was an annual festival held to celebrate the end of summer’s bounty but also to prepare for the long, cold winter months to come. It was believed that during Samhain, the doors between the real and spirit worlds could be opened and as such evil spirits would walk the earth.
So during Samhain people dressed up like the very ghouls they feared and also carved lanterns (using root vegetables) in an attempt to scare the spirits and keep them at bay. Bonfires played a part. They were lit as a way of disposing of the carcasses of slaughtered animals (whose meat would be consumed during the winter months) and were also used in cleansing rituals.
After time, the name Samhain was lost and the day became more widely known as All Hallows Eve and eventually, Halloween.
The U.S and all those pumpkins…..
It was the Irish who took the concept of Halloween to America during the 1840s as they fled the great famine in Ireland. Since then the simple activities undertaken during the time of Samhain have morphed to become a full-blown day and evening of celebration, fun, baking, autumn craft activities, pumpkin carving & eating, community – all with a splash of mystery and mischief. Many young children just love getting or giving a good scare. Up to 70% of U.S. homes are decorated during Halloween. And Canada doesn’t lag too far behind the U.S. in its enthusiasm for Halloween.
Australia and no pumpkins……
So why didn’t the Irish, who also came to Australia in droves during the mid-1800s, bring Halloween here? Well, I’m sure they tried…
But Australia is, of course, in the southern hemisphere. October 31 is half way through spring. It’s a time of verdancy, growth, new life, warm days and impossibly blue skies. Evil spirits would be hard pressed to survive such joie de vivre. Add to this that there would have been nary a pumpkin, gourd or tuberous vegetable in sight and the essence of Halloween would have inevitably suffered. I imagine that it would have seemed just plain stupid to early Irish settlers to perpetuate a part of their culture that bore no relation to the season and climate in which they now found themselves.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate aspects of Halloween now.
I am committed to supporting any activity that encourages children and parents to spend time outside, be it directly connecting with nature or taking a simple stroll around your suburb. Halloween gets a big tick on both these counts.
It’s like a giant street party, tempting our children to get out and about in their local community, greeting neighbours they may only see once a year. It stimulates a connection with nature by default. It affords the opportunity to talk to your kids about history, harvests, growing your own food, the celebration of bounty and the cycles of life. And it is a great time to have a go at some nature craft activities.
So get outside on 31 October, go easy on the sugar intake and enjoy all the positive things Halloween affords.
Cheers and happy haunting! If you see a middle-aged woman wandering around North Sydney with a pair of giant black angel wings attached to her back, that would, er, be me.
How do you, or do you, celebrate Halloween? I’d love to know.
Until next time…
I love this, Caro. It’s easy to forget that Halloween isn’t a part of every childhood. I still love it to this day, and have such great memories of trick-or-treating with my brothers. Monsters all of them, it was the perfect holiday for kids with a love of the outdoors and candy. Although, I still hold a grudge against my brother Gary stealing all of my peanut butter cups every year.
Here is my shout-out to Halloween: http://bit.ly/2sLzAi
Hugs- Bethe @balmeras
A really great article on Halloween.
I used to do the PR for a Halloween festival and many had the wrong take.
You have really brought out all the positives about the magic of Halloween and how wonderful it is in many varied areas.
One of my besties is Canadian and her annual Halloween party is terrific fun for the kids.
This year she is raising money to help a local family whose 5 year old has Leukemia. A wonderful way to do something positive within the community whilst enjoying all the great stuff about getting together with friends.
Thanks Angela. take a trip over to ThePunch.com.au if you want to see the polarising effect Halloween has in Australia. I loved writing this post and am so pleased you enjoyed reading it. Cheers. x
I enjoyed reading your post about Hallowe’en. Nevertheless, I would like to correct what you said about Canadians and Hallowe’en. All Canadians observe Hallowe’en. For newcomers to Canada, it takes only a few years before they begin to join the fun. Americans really know how to enjoy holidays, and will decorate their houses even more and put more enthusiasm into their holidays than we do. We are a little low-key but will still plan, decorate, dress the children and enjoy.
Gee, that part of my post must have been confusing. I actually meant that Canadians DO embrace Halloween as much as the US. I lived in Canada and experienced one Halloween there. It was a crazy, fun time, full of community spirit (no pun intended). i treasure that memory. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂 x
Being a pagan, I love to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve… it’s just a part of my Sabaths… and so I dress up my house, pull together some lollies and make sure I put on a horror movie on the night and enjoy the night for what it is.
Then, late in the evening – around midnight, I go outside and do up my Halloween Circle… it’s the only time of year I do this… sure I get a few strange looks from my neighbours, but I’m not about to stop just because my religion isn’t theirs ( and no, I’m not going to stop because they’re not pagans… and if they don’t like it, they can watch but don’t criticise just like I don’t criticise who you worship).
Anyway, my all-time favourite part of this time of year this year will be the carving of the pumpkin! You see, my parents just came back from a big holiday overseas. Their last port of call was Canada where Mum bought me all the great things to use to carve a pumpkin properly! I can’t wait to carve up a good one this year! 😀
Great article Caro. I want to see a photo of your costumes. I agree, anything that can bring families together and get children outside is an activity worth supporting.
A few years ago some Americans moved into our street and since then we have had he most wonderful time celebrating Halloween! The year they moved in they dropped a note with some balloons attached to it into everyone’s letterbox. The deal was if you wanted to participate in trick or treating you tied the balloons to your letter box – no balloons meant you would be left alone. It works really well and now the whole street looks forward to it 🙂
This is EXACTLY how I feel. To me, it’s a chance to explore creepy crawlies, dress up and have fun and yes, eat chocolate and lollies (I do enjoy sweets!) Nothing wrong with that. My girls can’t wait until Friday!
Can’t wait for tonight … I see thousands of kids in my street each year and it just get better each year and we have a ball decorating the house for all the kids that come across the street to enjoy x