All Souls Day Around the World
- Leslie Ryan
- Oct 9
- 2 min read
The Day of The Dead is not just a North American tradition! All Souls Day is celebrated around the world! Last year we talked about traditions in Mexico, and there is a link to that article follow below for your convenience, I thought it would be fun to see what happens in other places!
Not too surprisingly, most "Western" countries observe the same traditions. Halloween is gaining in popularity around the world, but All Souls Day or Day of the Dead is a day of family gatherings, for sharing stories, foods, and traditions.
Families gather at cemeteries to clean the plots, and leave flowers or candles. In Italy, the traditional flower to leave for the dead is white chrysanthemums (NOTE to self, never gift white mums to an Italian family. Big faux pas!).
Here's a fun one from Guatemala I had not heard of, the Kite Festival, La Feria de Barriletes Gigantes. These giant kites are believed to be signals for the souls of the departed to find their way back home during the "thinning of the veil" to borrow an Irish phrase. They are flown beginning on All Saints Day the day before All Souls Day
Asian traditions are not all celebrated in the Fall like Western traditions, except for Cambodia. Pchum Ben is celebrated after Buddhist Lent. The 15 day celebration takes place in the 10th month of the Lunar Calendar, so sometime between September and October. As elsewhere, it is believed that during these 15 days the souls of the departed are freed to visit their surviving families and feasts are held to welcome them home at their temples (wats).
From the website https://blog.tuimusement.com/uk/around-the-world-in-10-day-of-the-dead--celebrations/:
In Thailand, the Day of the Dead is known as Boon Para Wate and takes place over three days between May and July. "Chingming, or Tomb Sweeping Day, is the Chinese celebration to venerate the dead. It takes place from 4 – 6 April, though it can run longer. During this time, the graves are cleaned and per tradition–which forbids lighting fires–cold food is served. Chingming is also the festival of light and rebirth, welcoming spring."
I'm sure you have seen beautiful photos, like this one, of the Lantern Festival (Obon) in Japan held every August to honor their ancestors.
The more we genealogists learn about our ancestors and their customs, we can see that our human ties really go back thousands of years, don't you think? As we compare All Souls Day Around the World, we can see that we may look different, but inside we are all the same with the same hopes and dreams handed down from the past.
If you have a family gathering at the end of the month, whether it is for All Souls Day, or Halloween, I hope you will be able to share and learn more about your Family History.
Let me know if you would like some help with yours! Free evaluation with no obligation with your email.
Wishing you warm memories of family and friends during this thinning of the veil season,
Leslie Ryan
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