The number seven is an absolute winner!
For Halloween, which is considered by many to be the "scariest" holiday of the year, we searched for other, no less scary holidays celebrated around the world. What they are, what their characteristics are and where they take place, read below.
1. Halloween
Halloween is an extremely popular holiday in the United States, as well as in other parts of the world. In fact, it is an abbreviation for "All Hallow's Eve" or "Hallow Eve". While this holiday falls under the Christian category, it has roots in Gaelic pagan rites. They believed that on the full moon, most often the night before the Day of the Dead (October 31), the dead rise from their graves and thus come back to Earth and visit their homes. Because of this, people, afraid to meet the dead, hiding behind different masks and making a lot of noise. With the arrival of the Romans, the day of the dead got a permanent date. On the night before this day, according to ancient Roman belief, the black hunting god Samain took over the world, killed the Sun god and took the goddess of vegetation to the underworld, where she had to stay until the next spring, watching over dormant seeds, sleeping animals and souls of the dead. During this night, all the fireplaces were symbolically extinguished. It was also believed that the dead come to their world for the last time, so they set food for them on the thresholds of their houses. Some even hollowed out turnips, beets or potatoes for this purpose, and inserted a burning candle into them, saying that this would drive away sinful souls, but show the good ones the way to their homes. Pumpkins became popular for carving only in the 16th century in America, and later around the world. Today, it is represented by a carved pumpkin, called "Jack-o'-lantern" in the English-speaking world, the main symbol of the holiday. (Source: Wikipedia)
2. Dia de los Muertos, Mexico
The Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos coincides with Halloween and is also a fusion of the Christian holiday of All Saints' Eve and All Saints' Day with indigenous religious traditions. Dia de los Muertos began as an Aztec holiday in honor of the goddess Mictecacihuatl and later mixed with the Christian tradition during the European colonization of Mexico. Outside of Mexico, the holiday is known for its colorful and spectacular, a scary aesthetics.
3. Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night, Great Britain
"Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder, treason, and plot" begins the rhyme in England. This one recalls the attempt and failure of a group of Catholic radicals who wanted to blow up the English Parliament. The holiday includes ritual burning of an effigy of Guy Fawkes, the most memorable member of the group. In the past, the holiday had various anti-Catholic undertones and sometimes an effigy of the Pope was burned instead of Fawkes, but nowadays it is celebrated with a giant bonfire and fireworks.
4. Hungry Ghost Festival, China
Hungry Ghost is a Buddhist holiday, where people remember the dead with respect. The holiday is also closely related to ancestor worship. To honor fallen life companions, many Buddhists leave empty seats with plates of food for the dead. The holiday has many variations: with lights, performances and bonfires.
5. Up Helly Aa, Shetland Islands, Scotland
Up Helly Aa, a festival with a Viking twist, is an extremely picturesque festival in Scotland's Shetland Islands. It is celebrated at the end of the Christmas season. The biggest festival takes place in Lerwick and consists of a torchlight procession ending with by throwing torches into burning Viking ships.
6. Gai Jatra, Nepal
Gai Jatra, the cow festival, is a Nepalese holiday that remembers people who have died in the previous year. Cows are brought to the festival by those who lost a family member that year. Sometimes you can replaces the cow with little boys dressed as cows. Although there are macabre elements to the festival, most of the time this holiday is much more endearing than other celebrations of the dead. The festival is said to begin with the death of King Hind's son. He wanted to see the queen smile again, so he prepared a festival where he was supposed to reward anyone who could make the queen laugh. Today is a festival full of jokes, satire and mockery.
7. Famadihana, Madagascar
Famadihana is sure to be a winner among festivals dedicated to the dead. The ritual in Madagascar is known as "turning the bones". Relatives literally they dig up the dead, wrap the bodies and dance with them. The tradition stems from the belief that the dead cannot fully enter the afterlife until they have fully decomposed, which can take many years.
8. Wilder Mann
Wilder Mann is not a specific holiday, but a collection of photos of the costumes of many European pagan rituals by the French photographer Charles Fréger. One of the widely spread characters in these rituals is the "Wilder Mann" (wild man), who is half man, half animal. It is proof that even though much of Europe is globalized, they are still here the seeds of ancient paganism, which is carried out on the mainland.
