When I moved to Iowa from Missouri, I had a new "tradition" to adopt: beggars night, which is SEPARATE from Halloween. This year, some Iowa cities are allowing trick-or-treating ON Halloween, while others are not. My friends at WHO-TV have compiled a list here. In the place where I live (downtown Des Moines), trick-or-treaters will be out in the snow!
Meanwhile, 24/7 Wall Street has compiled a list of some of the coolest and creepiest Halloween traditions around the world.
Traditions include ( Click here for a complete list)
- Austria –As part of Seleenwoche, or All Souls’ Week, on October 31st, they leave bread and water out on a table, and light a lamp, to welcome and nourish the souls of the dead.
- Bolivia– During the Fiesta de las Ñatitas on November 8th they decorate real skulls with flowers, jewelry, hats, and glasses.
- England– There is a superstition that a man or woman looking into a mirror in a dark room on Halloween will see the face of his or her future mate in the background, but if they see a skull that means they’ll die before marrying.
- Germany– Germans hide their knives on Halloween so that returning souls don’t accidentally cut themselves.
- Norway– Folks in Norway use Halloween as an excuse to visit haunted places like Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, which is said to be haunted by a spectral monk.
- Portugal– On Dia das Bruxas, or Day of Witches, children do go trick or treating, but they ask for bread instead of candy.
- Romania– They don’t celebrate Halloween in October, but on May 26ththey celebrate Dracula Day, with the fictional character based 15th century Romanian ruler Prince Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler.
- Singapore– Nothing scary here, it’s simply a time to party, with clubs, pubs, markets and theme parks using it as an excuse to throw horror themed bashes.
Source:24/7 Wall Street