Do They 'Celebrate' Halloween in Japan?

[TheThunderBringer]

Do they? I remember seeing a funny Ouran Host Club episode with a Halloween twist to it so.....do they Halloween in Japan? Or in any other countries besides US?

[Eris]

Empirically, I can tell it's made it's way to parts of Europe (Sweden). Only quite recently though. It was pretty much non-existent maybe 15 years ago, and now it's pretty big.

[XxPantherChickxX]

Other countries Have their own versoins of our American Halloween. Mexico has Dias de los Muertos*sp?* (Days of the Dead). So I imagine that Japan has their own "Halloween" of sorts. :3

[Shwayze]

So I imagine that Japan has their own "Halloween" of sorts.

I agree; Like other countries around the world, Japan has their own version of Halloween.

[Eris]

Huh. Wikipedia has your answer: Halloween around the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_around_the_world). In the section on Japan, it says:
Halloween has become popular only recently in Japan, mainly in the context of American pop culture. Western-style Halloween decorations such as jack-o'-lanterns can be seen in many locations, and places such as Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan put on special Halloween events. The wearing of costumes is mostly limited to private home parties, day care centers and kindergartens, as well as in larger cities at bars frequented or run by foreigners. On a national scale trick-or-treating is largely unpracticed.


I agree; Like other countries around the world, Japan has their own version of Halloween.

On what do you base this? Halloween is a pretty unique phenomenon. It only exists in countries with a history that ties in with the Celts. I can in fact only find eight different Halloween-like traditions, and most of those stem from the same Celtic holiday as Halloween.

[XxPantherChickxX]

Huh, didn't know that. Thanks Eris. xD

[RaShayRitto]

Huh, didn't know that. Thanks Eris. xD

he IS the internet, after all

[Aku no Hikari]

We've never celebrated Halloween in my country and I've never seen Halloween except on TV. There are a lot of countries that don't have Halloween at all. Japan was one of them until very recently, because the Japanese always are trying to be more "America-like" in everything.

I hate it when they do this.


he IS the internet, after all

True, except for... Eris is a SHE!!

And don't pay attention to HER gender meme, cuz SHE is a SHE no matter how much HER gender changes!!

*prepares the anti-satellite-death-ray shield*

[Datenshi]

Huh. Wikipedia has your answer: Halloween around the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_around_the_world). In the section on Japan, it says:
Halloween has become popular only recently in Japan, mainly in the context of American pop culture. Western-style Halloween decorations such as jack-o'-lanterns can be seen in many locations, and places such as Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan put on special Halloween events. The wearing of costumes is mostly limited to private home parties, day care centers and kindergartens, as well as in larger cities at bars frequented or run by foreigners. On a national scale trick-or-treating is largely unpracticed.


This.

Like Valentine's Day and Christmas, it's part of a national conspiracy devised by big businesses to make money selling related products.

The closest approximation in Japan is probably the Bon Festival (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Festival), when the dead are supposed to come back to their homes. At the end of the festival, paper lanterns are released in the rivers to symbolize seeing the dead off, for them to return the next year.

According to the Japanese wikipedia article, the day is also a commemoration of the death of Yoshihiro Hattori (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshihiro_Hattori).

[Eris]

True, except for... Eris is a SHE!!

And don't pay attention to HER gender meme, cuz SHE is a SHE no matter how much HER gender changes!!

*prepares the anti-satellite-death-ray shield*

You're doing the meme wrong. The meme is that I don't confirm or deny anything. You're free to hold any theories you want.

[sa5m]

True, except for... Eris is a SHE!!

And don't pay attention to HER gender meme, cuz SHE is a SHE no matter how much HER gender changes!!

*prepares the anti-satellite-death-ray shield*
You mean the Internet's female?!

[Aku no Hikari]

You mean the Internet's female?!

Even though this isn't what I meant, but to answer your question... In my native language, everything has a gender (unlike English), so yes... the table is female, the pen is male, the paper is female, etc. The internet happens to be one of the female things.

SO YES, THE INTERNET IS FEMALE!! :laugh:

But unlike French, the TV is MALE.
Oh, and by the way, I HATE FRENCH!! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[Diocletian]

We've never celebrated Halloween in my country and I've never seen Halloween except on TV. There are a lot of countries that don't have Halloween at all. Japan was one of them until very recently, because the Japanese always are trying to be more "America-like" in everything.

I hate it when they do this.

I think that's every country really. From our music to our clothing, you countries either incorporate it or do the exact opposite.

For everyone: And don't trust Wikipedia for cultural notes. Ask an ACTUAL person that lives there like akuNoHikari, Datenshi or suzumi. Wikipedia is the place where Japanophiles can edit an article to say "Japan's greates export is animation".

[Eris]

For everyone: And don't trust Wikipedia for cultural notes. Ask an ACTUAL person that lives there like akuNoHikari, Datenshi or suzumi. Wikipedia is the place where Japanophiles can edit an article to say "Japan's greates export is animation".

Uh, Datenshi just confirmed what Wikipedia says. And Wikipedia is generally as accurate as any other dictionary.

[Diocletian]

Uh, Datenshi just confirmed what Wikipedia says. And Wikipedia is generally as accurate as any other dictionary.

Not really. Keep in mind anyone can edit it. Everyone knows "anyone" isn't a dictionary.

I still remember when I edited the article on Italy to spam it with Sopranos references. It stayed on there for days. God knows how many people felt it was true.

I'd trust you to give me facts about Sweden than Wiki anyday.

[Eris]

Not really. Keep in mind anyone can edit it. Everyone knows "anyone" isn't a dictionary.

I still remember when I edited the article on Italy to spam it with Sopranos references. It stayed on there for days. Wiki lost all credibility for me.

How long malicious edits stay around varies with a lot of variables, but they usually go away within a day (often within hours). On rare instances, like in yours, it can take longer.

You can always check the sources if something appears odd.

Cold fact is that studies (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4530930.stm) have shown that factually, Wikipedia is roughly on par with Encyclopedia Britannica.


I'd trust you to give me facts about Sweden than Wiki anyday.

But I'd probably blindly grab them from the Wikipedia article. I trust it more than my own observations about Sweden.

[Darkandiel]

Halloween is originally an ancient celtic pagan tradition and was called Samhain, so it originated here in Ireland. Samhain is the Irish word for November. Halloween being the eve of November. "Óiche Shamhna" is Halloween in Gaelic. I bet most you guys didn't know that and thought it was an American tradition. :P The tradition itself actually pre-dates the US. People who emigrated there brought their traditions with them. So of course we celebrate it here.

[Aku no Hikari]

Ask an ACTUAL person that lives there like akuNoHikari, Datenshi or suzumi.

I don't know if I got this right, but since you included me in the list, I assume you might have thought that I am Japanese. So, I making it clear that I'm not Japanese (if not to you, to anyone who though that). And when I said "in my country", I was referring to my country (LOL), which is not Japan.

But Wikipedia isn't really not trustworthy like many people think. Pages that do not cite the sources of their information are immediately marked. And when a page has some wrong or inaccurate information, it gets corrected quickly. Until now, I haven't read anything on Wikipedia about the Japanese culture that was denied or opposed neither by Japanese people themselves, nor by people who have resided in Japan.