International students offer their perspectives on Americanized Halloween happenings

Mélia Blanchard
Tue, 31 Oct 2023 01:02:07 +0000
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Popular candy items during Halloween. Credit: Courtesy of TNS

According to Ohio State’s Graduate and Professional Admissions website, Ohio State is home to over 6,000 international students. With Halloween just around the corner, many have lofty expectations surrounding the holiday.

With strong roots in Celtic culture, Halloween has been celebrated in countless different shapes and forms throughout history, according to an October 2019 article from the World History Encyclopedia.?

In the United States, celebrating Halloween involves a laundry list of “iconic” traditions, from carving up jack-o’-lanterns to showering children with candy. But Caroline Omolesky, a program officer and academic liaison at Ohio State’s Office of International Affairs, said Americans sometimes forget their typical version of Halloween is not necessarily a wide-reaching standard.

“Halloween is not always a big deal everywhere around the world, not always celebrated,” Omolesky said. “So I think people are — our international students — definitely are curious kind of about how it works here.”

Leni Van Marcke, a fourth-year in political science who originally hails from Belgium, said what feels natural for Americans — particularly picking out the “perfect” costume — can read as somewhat bizarre to others.?

“People in Europe don’t dress up that much,” Van Marcke said. “It’s not a big deal because a lot of people are also sort of against it. They are saying ‘Oh, it’s just an American tradition, so why [should we] celebrate it?’”

Although Van Marcke has dressed up for Halloween in the past, she said doing so is certainly not the norm.?

“I did it once as a kid, and I was the only one in my whole family that did that,” Van Marcke said.?

Sho Morishita, a fourth-year in psychology, said Halloween celebrations tend to be more private and reserved in his home country of Japan. While hosting parties and wearing costumes are relatively common activities, he said other American Halloween traditions are rarely observed.?

“The only difference is that children [do] not say ‘trick or treat!’ and don’t go to some other family’s door,” Morishita said.?

Both Van Marcke and Morishita said they feel excited to experience their first Halloween on American soil. Van Marcke said she is especially looking forward to donning a pirate costume and celebrating alongside her peers.

“I expect parties before, during and after,” Van Marcke said. “The whole week is going to be parties, I hope. And I think for college students especially, it’s going to be very fun.”

Morishita said he is looking forward to commemorating Halloween in a new way this year.

“I want to see the authentic atmosphere in the United States because I’ve never seen the U.S. Halloween before,” Morishita said. “I didn’t bring any costumes, so I need to get a costume first.”

At the end of the day, Omolesky said Halloween possesses a universal appeal, giving all students an opportunity to break away from the monotony of their daily routines.?

“It’s a good day to have a chance to just kind of become someone else,” Omolesky said.?