According to ancient Celtic beliefs, the evening of Halloween is a time when spirits and ghosts may cross into the realm of the living, harming them or even dragging them to the underworld. People disguised themselves as ghosts, monsters, and ghouls to trick the spirits into leaving them alone. The practice of going door to door dates back to early Medieval times when the poor asked for food or treats in return for prayers for the dead. Today, both practices have come together to morph into modern day trick-or-treating.

Halloween events are observed in many countries today, on October 31st of every year. But there are many other traditions and celebrations that exist around the world to honor and pay respect to the deceased. While Halloween, as celebrated today, has ceased to have any real religious/spiritual elements, other festivals around the world still do. Below are three examples from Mexico, the Middle East, and parts of East Asia and South East Asia.

Mexicans celebrate the departed on two different days. The Day of the Innocents or (Day of the Little Angels), honoring deceased children, takes place on November 1. The Day of the Dead, honouring adults, is November 2. Celebrants visit cemeteries on these days to be near the souls of the deceased. They build private altars around the graves, and within them include food, beverages, flowers, crafts and memorabilia related to the departed. Deceased children are brought toys, while tequila, mescal, pulque, or atole are brought for adults. Building these altars are thought to attract visits from spirits of deceased loved ones so that the prayers of the living will be heard. In some places, people will stay overnight beside the graves of their dead relatives, bringing along extra pillows and blankets so that the spirits can also rest after a long journey. Other celebrants don skull masks and dance in honor of the departed.

Thursday of the Dead, an ancient custom that falls on the Thursday before Easter, is celebrated in the Middle East by both Muslims and Arabic Christians. People typically visit local cemeteries before dawn to pray, then distribute food, such as dried fruit and special bread, cakes, or rolls, to their children, relatives, and poor people around the community. Traditions differ slightly, depending on where Thursday of the Dead is being celebrated.

The Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated in parts of China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore on the seventh month of the Lunar Year, which typically falls around August or September of the Gregorian calendar. During this month, it is believed that hungry ghosts wander the Earth for food and that satisfying these ghosts will bring good fortune and good luck. Families pay tribute to their dead relatives and other souls through prayer, food offerings, and by burning paper money; this is done so the dead have something to eat and buy things with in the afterlife. To help deceased family members live comfortably in their new world, paper houses, paper cars, and paper television sets are burned as well.

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