In Italy, in the last few decades, Halloween has gone from something only seen in movies and TV series from the US or the UK to a popular and beloved holiday. It doesn’t hold the status of an official holiday yet, but there’s virtually no school, store, or workplace that does not offer some kind of Halloween celebration. And similar to what happens in the US, you’ll start seeing jack-o’-lanterns and spiderwebs on windowsills and shop windows at the beginning of every October. Neighborhood trick-and-treats are also a favorite, and local stores are often eager to participate. Compared to the US, Italian Halloween costumes have a “mandatory” spooky vibe. Cheerful or other costumes are instead meant for Carnival, which is in February or March.
Although Halloween as a mainstream, festive event, with its complement of tricks-or-treats and costume parties, is a recent occurrence, the celebration itself actually has a long history, with Catholic roots and hints of ancient pagan rituals. Italy has traditionally celebrated All Saints’ Day—Ognissanti—on November 1 and All Souls’ Day—il giorno dei morti—on November 2. The Catholic tradition, however, has also long included a third festive day, All Saints’ Eve, which is Halloween. These three days are meant to honor saints and are used to pray for recently departed souls who are not yet in Heaven. For most Italians, however, until very recently, Ognissanti and il giorno dei morti were the rule, while Halloween was considered, albeit wrongly, “American,” and was basically neglected.
At any rate, Halloween is now a thing in Italy. The mix of spookiness, parties, and treats has won Italians’ hearts hands down—so let’s see a few ways to celebrate it in class!
Halloween in Class: Writing Prompts, Creative Storytelling Activities, Cross-Cultural Conversations
Since Halloween is a relatively recent addition to Italian festivities, there are no specific Halloween stories. Italian kids are told the jack-o’-lantern story, and local ghosts might be evoked—like the evergreen Fantasma Formaggino (“Cheese Ghost”) or the Italian boogeyman, the Babau—but there is nothing really Halloween-related.
To celebrate Halloween in class, looking for Italian scary stories might be interesting—after all, scary is scary, right? The stories do not have to be Halloween-specific. Or why don’t you create an Italian/US/other familiar culture(s) medley? A North American character transposed in Italy, maybe—what might happen next? Any combination might bring unexpected consequences and may even take the spookiness to the next level.
Most importantly, these storytelling activities could lead to an engaging cross-cultural conversation, considering, for instance, similarities and differences in the concept of “spooky” between cultures or comparing and contrasting spooky characters and situations. What do these things say about cultures? Are there any differences in how spooky stories work or how the characters are portrayed? Is there something that is acceptably scary in Italy that would not be considered culturally appropriate in the US, or vice versa?
And, after all of this researching and debating, we wish you buon dolcetto o scherzetto—happy trick-or-treat—e tanta paura—and lots of spookiness!
By Claudia Quesito
Also read:
Spooky Myths and Legends… But Wait: Is There Such a Thing as an Italian Halloween?
Halloween Celebrations Around the World
