Happy Halloween everyone!  Can’t believe it’s Halloween again.  Here are some really interesting links across the web for Halloween in China!

Jack o’Lantern.net has an interesting write up about Halloween in China.  They also talk about the Festival of Hungry Ghosts!

This is an interesting site that talks about Halloween around the world.  They say that in China they remember the dead, but in America we are scared of ghosts on Halloween!

About.com has a great writer who has written on just about everything in and out of China.  She has a great article about Halloween in China.  She wrote:

“Halloween is a great gimmick and lots of bars, pubs and restaurants will use Halloween as a theme night.”

That is just about right.

There are articles that are going around recently about a new Haunted House in Shanghai to celebrate Halloween.  here is a quote from THE NEWS:

“While China has a rich tradition of ghosts and ghouls of its own, Halloween is a non-event for most Chinese, who hold their own commemoration for the dead during the Qingming festival or Tomb-Sweeping Day usually marked in April.”

APRIL? you might say.  Yes, not exactly the harvest type theme with colors and cool weather.  But yes, April.

There is a pretty cool craft you can do with your kids on this site about being DOMESTIC.  It’s a take off of Chinese lanterns.  They stick a couple spiders on it and light it from within and it looks creepy!  COOL!

Another site talks about the differences all over the world in a simple eery sentence:

For some countries it is a time to remember their loved ones who have passed away over the years. For others it is a religious holiday. Finally, for others it is a way to welcome the spirits of those who have passed away back to earth among the living.

First one, is China.  Who celebrates Halloween as a religious holiday?  And who welcomes spirits back to earth?  Yikes!  I just like the candy corns!

At BUYCOSTUMES.com I typed in “Chinese” into the Search bar and the first thing I found was …. KIMONO.  Love it.  They constantly refer to Asian costume ideas as “ORIENTAL” and finally there was a “WISE CHINESE MAN” costume complete with a pair of silk pajamas and a fake FUMANCHU beard.

Then of course 4 years ago I invited tons of my students up to my apartment in Shanghai for a scary movie.  We watched “THE SHINING”.  I wonder how you say that in Chinese?

PS. They were scared.