Trick-or-treating is a favorite in our corner of the northwest suburbs, but did you know families around the world have been celebrating this time of year for centuries, in some pretty beautiful (and delicious) ways? Grab your kiddos and take a little world tour with us. Bonus: each stop comes with an easy idea you can try at home.
Ireland: Where It All Began
Halloween's roots trace back to Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of harvest and the start of winter. Irish families once carved turnips and beets into lanterns, long before pumpkins entered the picture. Today, many Irish families bake barmbrack, a fruit bread with small tokens baked inside that are said to tell your fortune.
🎃 Try it at home: Carve a pumpkin together and talk about how the very first jack-o'-lanterns were root veggies. Or bake a simple fruit loaf and hide a (safely wrapped, adult-supervised) surprise for the family to find.
Mexico: Día de los Muertos
Celebrated November 1 and 2, this joyful holiday honors loved ones who have passed. Families build ofrendas (altars) with photos, favorite foods, candles, and bright orange marigolds. It's a celebration of love and memory, not a scary one.
🌟 Try it at home: Make paper marigolds from tissue paper and share a favorite story about someone special in your family. Pan de muerto, a sweet bread, is a treat to look for at local bakeries.
Scotland and Ireland: Guising
Long before "trick or treat," kids in Scotland and Ireland went "guising": dressing in costumes and going door to door to perform a song, joke, or poem in exchange for treats.
🎭 Try it at home: Add a twist to your own candy hunt by having kids tell a joke or do a silly dance at each "door." Instant giggles.
Japan: Obon and Costume Fun
Japan's traditional celebration for honoring ancestors is Obon, held in summer, with glowing lanterns and community dances. Halloween itself is newer there and is mostly about elaborate costumes and parades, especially in Tokyo.
🏮 Try it at home: Make paper lanterns, or put on a family costume parade around the living room.
The Philippines: Undas
On November 1 and 2, Filipino families gather at cemeteries to clean graves, light candles, share food, and spend time together, often with several generations side by side. It feels more like a big family reunion than a spooky night.
📷 Try it at home: Pull out old family photos and have grandparents or other relatives share their stories.
China: Hungry Ghost Festival
During the seventh lunar month, families remember their ancestors with food offerings, incense, and paper lanterns, including lanterns set afloat on water to guide spirits.
🕯 Try it at home: Decorate paper lanterns with kid-drawn designs and use battery tea lights to light them up safely.
England: Bonfire Night and Soul Cakes
Just a few days after Halloween, England celebrates Guy Fawkes Night on November 5 with bonfires and fireworks. Centuries ago, children also went "souling," singing for small spiced soul cakes.
🍪 Try it at home: Bake spiced sugar cookies and call them soul cakes.
A Few Things Families Everywhere Share
Different countries, different customs, but the themes are surprisingly similar: gathering together, remembering loved ones, sharing food, and lighting up the darkening nights.
Make It a Family Project
Pick one tradition this week to try together. Kids love knowing a little history behind what they're doing, and it's a sweet way to teach curiosity about other cultures.
Looking for more fall fun close to home? Check our events calendar for Halloween happenings across Arlington Heights, Bloomingdale, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumburg, and Streamwood.
Macaroni KID Schaumburg-Hoffman Estates is a free weekly newsletter and website focused on fun family events and information in the Schaumburg area and Northwest Suburbs in and around Arlington Heights, Bloomingdale, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Schaumburg, and Streamwood. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week, and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, event and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more.
Looking for more? Get a FREE kid-friendly calendar full of festivals, activities, and events in the Schaumburg area delivered right to your inbox when you subscribe for free!
 | ||
 |  |  |
