Some Halloween traditions, such as trick -or -treating and carving pumpkins, are shared around the world, but for others, the American Halloween craze is a whole new experience.
For Lily Pattinson and Bethan Richards, students from Swansea University in Wales and juniors studying American studies, some of these Halloween traditions are familiar.
People in the United Kingdom carve pumpkins, wear costumes and trick or treat, but to a lesser extent, Richards said.
“If Americans went to the UK for Halloween, they’d probably have a culture shock,” she said.
“Where I’m from, we have a street of bars and clubs, but it’s nowhere near as packed, and people don’t get into their outfits as much back home.”
Some other differences include making toffee apples instead of caramel apples, not decorating houses and not drinking apple cider, Richards said.
Pattinson said many students in the UK plan nights where they go out, and Halloween is usually just included as one of those nights.
“Because we can all legally drink, we go to nightclubs and just hang out, so for Halloween, you’d just go to a club in fancy dress (costume) and that’s it,” she said. “I feel like because of the fact that we can drink before we start university that we are just focused on planning nights out every so often.”
Although he didn’t wear a costume this year, Apoorv Agarwal, an international student from India and a freshman studying finance, celebrated his first Halloween by carving pumpkins for the first time and attending the block party.
“My experience was good, and it wasn’t weird or too insane,” he said. “I experienced a lot of fun stuff and some hilarious costumes.”
Rasha Sansur, an international student from Palestine and a graduate student studying communication and development, dressed as a witch for her first Halloween experience.
Some private schools in Palestine throw Halloween parties, but they do not normally celebrate the holiday, Sansur said.
“I actually enjoyed the costumes, I mean some people are really creative,” she said. “I think it’s a time to have fun, and I think people hold onto things like that because it makes people happy.”
Some people in Amsterdam dress up for Halloween and there are some specials on TV, but the majority of people just go out to drink, said Joost Ligthart, an international student from the Netherlands and a sophomore studying international business.
Ligthart said he didn’t realize how commercialized American Halloween traditions were until he went grocery shopping toward the end of September.
“About a month ago, I went to Wal -Mart and Kroger and already saw a lot of Halloween stuff before it was even October,” he said. “But I get why, because it’s a time to look forward to and be enthusiastic about.”
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