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Common language aside, there are many differences between the United States and the United Kingdom. When it comes to Halloween, Americans and Britons each have their own way of doing things.
Keep scrolling through the list to learn 10 ways that people celebrate Halloween in the United States and the United Kingdom, costumes that they wear to the types of sweets that they eat.
In Scotland and on the Isle of Man, the Celtic roots of Halloween are honored at the Samhain celebrations.
While Americans generally do not focus on the Celtic roots of Halloween, the former predecessor of the festival, Samhain, is still celebrated in Scotland and on the Isle of Man, one of the British Channel Islands , as well as in Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Meaning "end of summer", Samhain (which runs from October 31 to November 1) marks the end of the harvest season and symbolizes the division between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
Samhain's celebrations include rituals such as bonfires and dances.
Another fall party is actually a bigger problem than Halloween in the UK.
Guy Fawkes Day (also known as Guy Fawkes Night and Bonfire Night) has always been more important than Halloween in the UK.
Celebrated with parades, bonfires and fireworks on November 5, you may know the nursery rhyme "Remember, Remember November 5" – Guy Fawkes Day commemorates the failed plot of gunpowder. The project, orchestrated by Roman Catholics in 1605, was an attempt to blow up Parliament in response to King James I's refusal to expand the religious freedom of Catholics.
However, the US commercialized version of Halloween is also taking off.
"I have the feeling that Halloween is overtaking or has passed Guy Fawkes night," said James Sharpe of the University of York at Smithsonian Magazine in 2014.
In the United States, costumes are not always "scary".
The British tend to wear more traditional Halloween costumes, disguising themselves as ghosts, zombies and other fearsome creatures.
"In the United States, when kids get caught, it seems like any costume goes, even costumes that are not necessarily" Halloween-y "(including princesses, Spider-Man, etc.). ), "Wrote a Quora user with dual American and British citizenship. "In the UK, we stick to more traditional ghost / vampire / zombie / Frankenstein / Ghoul inspired ghoul costumes."
According to a survey conducted in 2017 by the Halloween Industry Association, witch costumes were the most popular choice of adults in the United States, while action costumes / superheroes were at the top of the category of children . In fact, Americans spent a total of 3.4 billion US dollars in costumes last year.
The British do not go wild with a Halloween decor.
In the UK, it is rare that the British put up an excessive amount of Halloween decorations.
"You will rarely see anyone decorating their home with Halloween items, other than perhaps a pumpkin under the porch or something like that," wrote a Quora user.
There are Halloween treats that you can only get in the United States (and vice versa).
Some Halloween treats are exclusive in the United States, while others are only available in the United Kingdom. For example, in a video posted by YouTube user Raphael Gomes, it seems that candy sugar and pumpkin spices and cotton are not at all a problem. But spooky treats like Nestle Milkybar Ghosts and Cadbury Patchkin Pumpkin Cakes are sold seasonally in the UK.
That said, online shopping allows you to order your favorite sweets wherever you live.
Special effects or treatment is more common in the United States.
Going door-to-door to buy sweets is not as important in the UK.
"When I lived in the UK, I was doing nonsense for my kids, but it was rather unobtrusive. Few adults in suits, "said a British user from Quora who moved to California.
Plus, Britons might be more inclined to eat Halloween sweets themselves rather than distribute them to kids.
"We are more likely to buy Halloween candies and eat them ourselves by watching the spooky movie they put on TV for the occasion," said a Reddit user.
But it has its origins in the Scottish and Irish tradition of "guising".
Dating from the Middle Ages, the expression – a shortening of disguise – refers to the tradition of dressing children with old clothes and having them emulate evil spirits on Halloween (then known as the Eve of All Saints' Day or Eve of Toussaint). By going from house to house, they would receive offerings to ward off evil.
Today, in Scotland, children are still going to school. But they are supposed to show a talent (like singing or reciting a poem) in order to receive a treat.
"As a young man, I remember going out dressed as [a] ghoul demanding a treat, however, I had to interpret a song to receive it, "wrote a Quora user in Scotland. "In that, I pursued the custom that generations before me had practiced."
A city in Northern Ireland is famous for its annual Halloween festival, which lasts four days.
In Derry, the second largest city in Northern Ireland, locals celebrate Halloween with a four-day event called the Carnival Banks of the Foyle. The festivities include a haunted house, a parade, etc.
A poll of USA Today 2015 readers has named Derry the best place in the world to celebrate Halloween.
In Scotland and Ireland, it is traditional to cut a rutabaga or a turnip instead of a pumpkin.
Pumpkins are synonymous with autumn and it's hard to think of Halloween without imagining an illuminated pumpkin.
However, in some parts of the UK, people make lanterns from other root vegetables, rutabagas or turnips. The practice can probably be traced back to an Irish legend about a man named Jack who was cursed for wandering the Earth by the light of a turnip lantern.
"It's a very old tradition in Scotland and Ireland, based on the will and the myths of the Celts," said Donna Heddle, Professor of Northern Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands, at the BBC. When immigrants from these countries came to the United States and could not find turnips, they instead used pumpkins, she explained.
"Night of mischief" is something in some parts of the United States – but it has its origins in the United Kingdom.
According to Vox, in New Jersey and surrounding areas (such as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), the night before Halloween is known as "Mischief Night" – an evening of vandalism through toilet paper, egging and other pranks.
Elsewhere in the United States, pre-Halloween hijinks are called "Devil's Night" and "Cabbage Night".
Night of mischief, however, actually has origins in the UK, according to The Guardian. A similar tradition is observed in the North of England and in the Midlands, known as "Miggy Night" and "Mizzy Night".
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