Halloween in Italy

(photo source)

Should Halloween be imported to and celebrated in Italy or not?

This is a very interesting question, and Italians are still wondering about that. Halloween has positive aspects, because it offers you the opportunity to stay with your friends, to go to parties, and to have a lot of fun. Anyway, Italians don't know the true meaning of Halloween, and they should learn it, because it is very important to know different cultures and traditions! If you want to get further information, click here.

Here I'd like to point out why Italians should not celebrate this holiday.

Even though it comes from Europe -as it was first celebrated by the Celts- it doesn’t belong to Italians. In Italy we have various regional traditions that are similar to Halloween, but still different from this famous Anglo-Saxon and American holiday. Because of Halloween, those Italian traditions have been lost. I think that we should celebrate All Saints’ day and All Souls’ day, and also remember our regional traditions.

Italian children love Halloween because they can dress up as ghosts, witches, vampires, skeletons and they go from house to house asking for candy. Anyway, they don’t know the history and the meaning of Halloween. Sometimes they ring your doorbell and they don’t have a costume, or they don’t say ‘Trick or treat?’(which is translated into Italian with ‘dolcetto o scherzetto?’). This is quite absurd!!

In my opinion, Italians started celebrating Halloween without knowing its origins and meaning. They are influenced by mass-media and consumerism. So pumpkins, candies, and customs aren’t considered symbols. They are just objects. We should start reading about the meaning of Halloween, and keep our traditions alive.

Do you agree with me or not?

Let me know!

Giovanna