Welcome to a journey into the world of unusual Halloween traditions –  a time when the extraordinary, unusual, and peculiar take the spotlight.

As fall sets in and nights grow longer, different cultures embrace the eerie Halloween season in their own distinct ways. While we’re familiar with costumes, candy, and haunted houses, there are other ways to celebrate the season.

While celebrations span a variety of days,, the primary celebrations days are Halloween on October 31st, followed by All Saints Day on November 1st, and All Souls Day on November 2nd.

So let’s take a look at some fall traditions, adding a delightful twist to this spooky season, with these Halloween traditions from around the world.

Festivals Honoring the Dead

Día de los Muertos – Mexico

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, spans October 31st to November 2nd. This deeply symbolic Mexican holiday blends ancient Aztec rituals with Catholic observances.

Families create vibrant ofrendas (altars) decorated with marigolds, candles, family photos, and offerings like pan de muerto (a sweet bread) and favorite food or drink of the departed. Marigolds guide spirits home, while whimsical sugar skulls and costumed skeleton figures appear in parades and on altars. Loved ones gather in cemeteries to clean graves, share stories, play music, and picnic, emphasizing celebration of life as much as remembrance of death. This ritual is about joyful commemoration of ancestors, not grief or fear.

La Castanyada – Catalonia, Spain

La Castanyada coincides with All Saints’ Day in Catalonia.

Rooted in medieval funeral feasts, today it’s a social affair featuring roasted chestnuts, sweet potatoes, and marzipan panellets (a small sweet cookie). In Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia, families gather to share these treats while remembering loved ones lost. Traditionally, bell ringers worked through the night to commemorate the dead, sustained by these seasonal foods. Community gatherings, live music, and market stalls fill city squares, lending warmth and togetherness to the autumn season.

Pangangaluluwa – Philippines

Pangangaluluwa is a centuries-old Filipino tradition for All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days.

This celebration blends folk customs and Catholic beliefs. Children, and sometimes adults, don costumes or disguise themselves and go door-to-door singing traditional songs. In return, they receive food or offerings—sometimes coins. Unlike Western trick-or-treating, the song is meant to bring prayers or help free souls from purgatory, strengthening neighborly ties and preserving a centuries-old spiritual bond.

Día de Todos los Santos & Día de los Ñatitas – Guatemala & Bolivia

In Guatemala, All Saints’ Day is marked by the beautiful spectacle of “Giant Kite Festivals.”

Enormous handmade kites, some several meters wide, are flown in cemeteries to carry messages to the deceased. Families eat together at gravesides and decorate tombs with flowers, music, and food.

In Bolivia, Día de los Ñatitas is celebrated shortly after, during which families pay respects to human skulls—nicknamed “ñatitas”—with candles, garlands, and cigarette offerings. Skulls are believed to bring luck, protection, or guidance, showing a distinct reverence for the physicality of ancestors.

Honoring the Dead with Costumes – Czech Republic

Some Czechs observe All Souls’ Day by donning garb reminiscent of departed relatives when visiting cemeteries.

Families light candles, lay flowers, and spend quiet time reflecting among the gravestones. Though less theatrical than Western costumes, the act carries powerful symbolism for bridging the gap between the living and the dead.

Fire, Light, and Spirit Rituals

Samhain Bonfires – Ireland and Scotland

Samhain, the precursor to Halloween, marks the end of the ancient Celtic year.

As darkness returned and harvest ended, villagers gathered to light grand bonfires. Fires were believed to offer protection, cleanse communities, and drive away evil spirits lurking as the veil between worlds grew thin. Samhain was also a season for divination and ancestral remembrance, elements still honored by Wiccan and Pagan groups today. While modern Ireland and Scotland may hold symbolic bonfires instead of the immense fires of old, the tradition celebrates the turning of seasons and the endurance of light.

Odo Festival – Nigeria

Among Nigeria’s Igbo people, the Odo Festival honors ancestral spirits who are thought to return every two years.

Though observed outside October, its connection to the spirit world resembles Halloween. Odo masks and costumes represent revered ancestors. Drumming, dance, and communal feasts create a powerful sense of continuity, echoing the spirit-centered customs of Samhain or the Day of the Dead.

Awuru Odo – Ghana

In communities in Ghana, Awuru Odo marks the return of the spirits of departed loved ones.

The event brings together feasting, drumming, and masked dances honoring ancestors and the cycles of life and death. Like other autumn festivals, this ritual combines somber respect with joyful celebration and storytelling.

Hungry Ghost Festival – China, Singapore, Southeast Asia

The Hungry Ghost Festival occurs in the seventh lunar month, but its rituals closely resemble Halloween.

Offerings of food, incense, and joss paper (symbolic money or valuables) are left out to appease hungry, wandering spirits. Communities sometimes stage opera performances or puppet shows to entertain these visitors from the afterlife, much as Western cultures hold festivities for departing spirits.

Feasting and Symbolic Food

Barmbrack – Ireland

Irish barmbrack is a fruit-studded bread baked with symbolic tokens. A ring promises marriage, a coin suggests prosperity, a pea foretells bachelorhood, and a rag portends hard times.

Families slice the bread together, eagerly anticipating what the lottery of tokens will predict. Barmbrack embodies the fortune-telling side of Samhain and is served alongside other seasonal goodies like apple cakes and cider.

Chestnut Roasting – Portugal

In Portugal, the arrival of November brings the Magusto, an outdoor celebration focused on roasting chestnuts over crackling fires.

Shared with family and friends, hot chestnuts are eaten with jeropiga (a sweet local wine) while stories are told around the embers. Roasting chestnuts provides warmth and nourishment as winter approaches and serves as a comforting tribute to lost loved ones.

La Castanyada and Panellets – Catalonia, Spain

Panellets, almond-and-potato marzipan cookies, are made throughout Catalonia for All Saints’ Day.

Traditionally, they accompany the roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes of La Castanyada. Markets overflow with variations: coconut, chocolate, candied cherry, or pine nut toppings. Foods are shared in memory of the dead, strengthening family bonds and the connection to seasonal rhythms.

Souling and Soul Cakes – United Kingdom

Souling originated in the Middle Ages, when the needy went door-to-door singing and receiving small soul cakes as payment for praying for deceased family members.

The cakes, flavored with spices and dried fruit, sometimes bore a cross design. This practice likely gave rise to later traditions of trick-or-treating, yet its original purpose—prayers for the souls of the departed—remains poignant in many communities.

Pumpkin Weigh-Offs – United States & Worldwide

The ritual of growing, weighing, and celebrating giant pumpkins has become an autumn staple in parts of the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Farmers haul mammoth pumpkins by crane to be weighed and judged at county fairs and festivals. The tradition reflects bounty and a playful side of harvest: a direct line from agricultural abundance to communal pride and spectacle.

Community and Creative Fun

While the U.S. classic is trick-or-treat, not every community celebrates in the same way.

Trunk-or-Treat – United States

Trunk-or-Treat events offer a contemporary and safe take on Halloween in American communities.

Instead of walking house to house, families gather in parking lots, decorating their car trunks with themed displays—think pirates, movie scenes, or haunted castles. Children parade from car to car collecting candy, often while participating in games or costume contests. The event fosters a sense of community and creates a safe environment for young children to enjoy the spirit of Halloween.

Mask Parades and Zombie Walks – Japan

Japan’s Halloween celebrations have grown rapidly, centered not around home-based trick-or-treating but citywide parades.

Kawasaki’s annual Halloween parade features thousands in elaborate costumes, vying for attention and prizes. In city districts from Shibuya to Osaka, “zombie walks” bring out crowds dressed as the undead, playful monsters, or pop culture icons. Even though Halloween isn’t a traditional Japanese festival, the passion for costumes and performance gives the celebration a distinctly local flavor.

Candy Exchange – Sweden

Swedish children participate in a version of trick-or-treating—with a twist.

Dressed in costumes, they visit shops and houses but often trade a simple drawing, greeting, or home-made craft for their treat instead of just reciting “trick or treat.” This exchange upholds longstanding traditions of creativity and sharing, adding a meaningful, personal touch to the Halloween routine.

Beggars’ Night – Ohio, United States

Instead of simply knocking on doors for treats, children in parts of Ohio must earn their candy by telling a joke, reciting a rhyme, or performing a clever trick.

This custom, called Beggars’ Night, aims to curb Halloween mischief while adding a layer of creative fun. Kids and families delight in the good-natured performances and neighborly interaction that distinguish the regional celebration.

Traditional Games and Play

Duck Apple Night – England

Bobbing for apples—known as “duck apple”—has been a staple of English Halloween parties for centuries.

Participants attempt to bite floating apples or apples hanging from strings, relying on agility and luck. Historically, the game was part of romantic divination: the first to successfully catch an apple was said to be the next to marry. The game’s enduring popularity lies in its simplicity, laughter, and competitive fun.

Rolling Eggs – Waterford, Ireland

Rolling hard-boiled eggs down a hill is a cherished Halloween pastime in Waterford.

Contestants watch their brightly colored eggs bounce and spin, hoping for the longest and most intact roll. The egg’s journey was sometimes thought to represent the soul’s passage or the year’s cycle ending and beginning anew. This playful pursuit brings families together and bridges generations with shared laughter and tradition.

Cross-Cultural and Modern Adaptations

All Hallows’ Eve in Italy

In Italy, All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days are times for visiting cemeteries and bringing flowers to graves.

In some regions, children receive gifts or sweets “from the dead,” left overnight as a symbol of ancestral blessings. The giving of fave dei morti (beans of the dead), almond cookies shaped like beans, and other traditional pastries connects regional cuisine with a universal impulse to remember and honor loved ones.

Halloween in Hong Kong – Yue Lan

Hong Kong’s Yue Lan, or the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts, combines Taoist rituals with door-to-door visits for gifts of food and incense.

During October, Hong Kongers decorate with lanterns, hold parades, and stage bonfire performances to keep malevolent or restless spirits at bay. Many Western Halloween elements mingle freely—costumes, pumpkin displays, and haunted house attractions—making the city’s celebration a blend of East and West.

Halloween in Australia and New Zealand

While not universally popular, Halloween is growing in Australia and New Zealand, where local communities often adapt traditional harvest activities.

Residents host costume parties, pumpkin displays, and community “trick or treating” events. Because Halloween falls in early spring rather than fall in the Southern Hemisphere, the celebration is sometimes adjusted, with local foods and flower decorations for a distinct seasonal feel.

These rich and varied traditions reflect the universal themes at Halloween’s core: honoring the dead, celebrating harvest, banishing fear, and finding light and laughter as nights grow longer. Whether through sweet bread, roaring bonfires, playful costumes, or heartfelt offerings, people across the globe affirm what it means to remember, to gather, and to welcome both ancestors and the unknown into their midst.