We love the fall months here in North America, especially when it means we get to celebrate our favorite fall holidays like spooky Halloween and wholesome Thanksgiving.
The autumn months mark changes in seasons all over the world, and many cultures have embraced this special time in their own unique way, just as we have here in the United States.
Here are just a few of the holidays that take place around the fall months across the globe; some you may recognize and some, hopefully, you’ll get to experience for the first time someday!
Autumn holidays from across the globe
Bon Om Touk
Cambodia
Also known as the Cambodian Water Festival, Bon Om Touk is a three-day national holiday celebrated in late October or early November, often corresponding with the lunar Mid-Autumn Festival. It marks the end of the monsoon season and the reversal of the flow of the Tonlé Sap River, which flows from the Mekong River into the Tonlé Sap Lake during the rainy season, and then back into the Mekong River during the dry season.
Guy Fawkes Night
United Kingdom
Bonfire Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Night, is a British celebration held on November 5th. It commemorates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when a group of Catholic conspirators attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament and kill King James I. The Gunpowder Plot was foiled the night before it was due to take place and Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators, was arrested in the cellar of Parliament where he was guarding the explosives. The other conspirators were either killed or captured, and all were eventually executed.
In the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, Parliament declared November 5th a national day of thanksgiving. Bonfires were lit all over the country, and effigies of Guy Fawkes were burned. The tradition of celebrating Bonfire Night has continued ever since!
Chuseok
South Korea
Chuseok, also known as Hangawi, is a major mid-autumn harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar on the full moon. It is one of the most important holidays in South Korea, and is a time for families to come together and give thanks for the harvest and for their ancestors.
Dia De Los Muertos
Mexico
Dia De Los Muertos is a Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, though other days such as October 31 or November 6th, may be included depending on the locality.
The Day of the Dead is a blend of indigenous Mexican and Catholic traditions. The indigenous people of Mexico believed that death was a natural part of life and that the dead continued to exist in the spirit world. The Catholic Church added its own traditions to the holiday, such as the building of altars to honor the dead.
Families typically visit the graves of their loved ones on the Day of the Dead. They also build altars at home, which are decorated with flowers, candles and offerings of food and drink. The offerings are believed to help guide the spirits of the dead back to the world of the living.
Diwali
India
Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a Hindu festival that celebrates the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. It is one of the most important and popular festivals in India, and is also celebrated by Hindus all over the world.
Diwali typically falls in the Hindu month of Kartika, which is around October or November on the Gregorian calendar. The festival lasts for five days, and each day has its own special significance.
On the first day of Diwali, people clean their homes and businesses and buy new clothes and decorations. On the second day, people decorate their homes with diyas (oil lamps) and rangoli (designs made with colored sand or powder). On the third day, the main day of Diwali, people perform Lakshmi Puja (a prayer to the goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity). They also exchange gifts and sweets and set off fireworks! On the fourth day, people visit their friends and family to give them gifts. Then, on the fifth and final day of Diwali, people perform Bhai Dooj (a ceremony to honor the bond between brothers and sisters).
Feast of St. Martin
Germany and France
The Feast of Saint Martin, also known as Martinmas, is a Christian feast celebrated on November 11th. It commemorates the death of Saint Martin of Tours, a 4th-century bishop who was known for his generosity and compassion.
Saint Martin is the patron saint of many different groups, including soldiers, beggars, tailors and winemakers. In many countries where the holiday is observed, such as France and Germany, people typically eat a goose dinner on Martinmas Eve or Martinmas Day — this tradition is thought to have originated because geese were slaughtered in the fall so that they could be preserved for the winter.
Festival of the Yams
West Africa
The Festival of the Yams is widely celebrated in West Africa — especially Nigeria and Ghana — where yams are a staple food crop. The holiday is a way for communities to celebrate their culture and heritage, and to give thanks for the abundance of food that they have been blessed with.
The festival is typically celebrated in the fall, and it includes a variety of activities, such as feasting, dancing, singing and traditional ceremonies. One of the most important parts of the Festival of the Yams is the ceremonial eating of the new yams, which is typically performed by the elders of the community and it is meant to symbolize the community's gratitude for the yam harvest.
Mid-Autumn Festival
China
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It’s held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, which usually corresponds to sometime between mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar. On this day the moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of autumn. Thus, the Mid-Autumn Festival!
Ognissanti
Italy
Ognissanti, also known as All Saint’s Day, is a Christian holiday to honor and remember all of the saints, both known and unknown. Celebrated on November 1st each year, the holiday dates back to the early 8th century when it was established by Pope Gregory III.
Those who celebrate Ognissanti visit cemeteries to clean and decorate the graves of their loved ones, leaving flowers, food and drinks in honor of them.
Oktoberfest
Germany
Oktoberfest is the world's largest folk festival, featuring a world renowned beer festival and a traveling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, running from mid- or late-September to around the first Sunday in October, with more than six million international and national visitors attending the event. Locally, it is called d'Wiesn, after the colloquial name for the fairgrounds, Theresienwiese.
The festival originated on October 12, 1810, in celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, who later became King Ludwig I of Bavaria, to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The celebration consisted of a horse race that was held in an open area that came to be called Theresienwiese, as well as a folk festival that was held in tents nearby.
Over the years, the folk festival became the main attraction of Oktoberfest, and the horse race was eventually discontinued. In the early 1800s, breweries began to set up tents at Oktoberfest, and beer became a major part of the festival.
Today, Oktoberfest is a major tourist attraction for people from all over the world. Visitors come to enjoy the beer, the food, the music and the atmosphere. The festival is also a major economic driver for the city of Munich.
Samhain
Ireland, Scotland
Samhain (pronounced sow-in) is a Gaelic festival that marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the winter half of the year. It is celebrated on November 1st, and its origins can be traced back to the ancient Celtic people of Ireland and Scotland.
The Celts believed that Samhain was when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through between our world and the next. It was also a time of transition, as the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer as the seasons change.
The festival was a time to honor ancestors and to celebrate the cycle of life and death. They also believed that Samhain was a time of magic and divination. To celebrate the festival, people would carve lanterns out of gourds and light bonfires to guide the spirits to where they needed to go. If this sounds familiar, it should — it’s the origin of our modern-day Halloween!
Yulan Festival / Hungry Ghost Festival
East and Southeast Asia
The Yulan Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival or Hungry Ghost Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in certain East and Southeast Asian countries, including China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia. It is held on the 15th night of the 7th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which typically falls in August or September of the Gregorian calendar.
The Yulan Festival is a time to remember and honor deceased ancestors and loved ones from all generations, not just older ones. Families leave offerings of gifts, food, drink and incense at special altars dedicated to their loved ones in order to appease their hunger.
What a great opportunity it is to see how other cultures and countries celebrate the changing of the seasons. Hopefully you get to see some of these festivals or participate in some of these holidays one day!
Enjoy!
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Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/Photocurry
Colleen Ford is a South African who now lives on Oahu in Hawai'i. She loves to travel, camp, spearfish and hike. She's also part of a super cool canoe club and is pretty decent at it. Colleen enjoys Star Wars and also not being cold ever.
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