Most Haitians would not celebrate Halloween

Reasons Why Haitians Shun Halloween

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Halloween is a popular holiday that is widely celebrated in America. People wear a wide range of costumes, with the most common ones being witches, vampires, and devils, among others, to commemorate it. Kids go on trick-or-treating, while Halloween activities are done in school. That is how popular Halloween is.

However, not everyone enjoys and celebrates Halloween. Most Haitians and people who grew up in the Caribbean do not like to participate in Halloween festivities mostly because of religious reasons. Some of them believe that Halloween is more like devil worship. Many of those who are against the celebration of Halloween do not want their kids to wear costumes associated with the dark side, like the devil, witches and ghosts. Others shun away from Halloween because they are unfamiliar with it. Haiti and other Caribbean countries do not celebrate Halloween. Therefore, kids there grew up without any knowledge about such a holiday. So, when they move to the U.S., where Halloween is widely accepted and recognized, they are not that keen to celebrate it.

But some families allow their kids to join Halloween school festivities for the only reason that they do not want their children to feel left out. While kids who are growing up in the States tend to become more aware of Halloween, it is highly unlikely that you will see a grown-up Haitian or any other person from the Caribbean who is part of the festivities.

As a matter of fact, there are religious organizations who are calling for the abolishment of Halloween, saying that the holiday has no religious roots in and relevance to African-Caribbean folklore.

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All Comments (4)

B-youself says...

This is a great article, it is simple and clearly explains why some Haitians does not celebrate.

For those who does not celebrate it's good to teach your children to stand out from the rest. Because you live in the U.S and raise your children here we don't have to follow all the things that are done

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Marc says...

Haitian people celebrate Roman Catholic Holidays :
Nov 1st =All saints day = La Toussaint
Nov 2nd =Decease day =jour des Morts.

Vodou people celebrate African Guédé (like Halloween)=Oct

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Valerie Parkhurst says...

Oh Floridians are only too aware of this holiday..we have enough headless animals (pets) turning up for days

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Jackie Chow says...

Haitian people celebrate it on November 1, fete des morts.

Day of the Dead. Same thing! The only difference is just one is on October 31 and is on November 1...This is where they do a lot of animal

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