English
When one thinks of Halloween, pumpkins, witches, cobwebs and other frightening symbols immediately come to mind. Although the American custom of Halloween has been expanding rapidly in Europe, nothing compares to the energy and excitement of experiencing it on the other side of “the pond”.
Photo: drsmith7383
Pumpkin Festival
If you travel along the east coast to the state of New Hampshire, more specifically the town of Keene, there’s a very unique Halloween festival: the Pumpkin Festival. As everyone knows, the pumpkin is the symbol of Halloween and many families empty them out, cut eyes and a mouth into them and light them up with a candle to give it a more macabre look, a figure known as a Jack-o´-lantern. In Keene, many of these pumpkins (each more bizarre and terrifying than the other) are joined together to create the largest pumpkin mountain in the world, which has already broken several records Guinness. When the pumpkins are lit, it creates an illuminated castle that is truly spectacular to see in person. Each year, 80,000 people come to Keene, a city whose population is around 20,000 people, to see the festival. Go see it for yourself and, as they say, “Let it shine!”
Festival of the Dead
A little further north, in the town of Salem, Mass., the Festival of the Dead, a festival commemorating the dead, is celebrated annually. Halloween has a macabre tone, and this festival explores the mysteries of death through events that research the various ways that people honor, celebrate and keep secret contact with the dead. Here you will find psychics and mediums who can put you in contact with the beyond, a journey into the unknown that you will definitely give you goose bumps and is guaranteed to be full of surprises. At the end of the event, there is a Halloween-themed dance, where you can dine, dance, enjoy live music and a lively atmosphere is more than merely mortal.
Halloween Parade
One of the most deeply rooted traditions of Halloween in the United States is the Halloween Parade, which is held each year in New York. It is celebrated in Greenwich Village on October 31, and attracts around two million visitors each year. Participants include some 50,000 dancers and costumed circus performers as well as floats that carry musical bands to play well into the night. The Halloween Parade is the largest Halloween event throughout the United States, and more than 100 million people worldwide watch it. And since each year has a different theme, it´s never the same. If you are in New York during this time, there is no better way to get into the spirit of Halloween than attending this parade.
aleixgwilliam
Don´t wait! Book your apartments in New York city center now, so that you can celebrate Halloween and enjoy all of the customs surrounding this fun holiday.
