DigiNepal · festivals
Halloween (Halloween). Region: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, spreading worldwide. Tradition: Celtic and Christian origins, now secular. Calendar: Gregorian (31 October). Dates: Worldwide 2026: Saturday 31 October 2026 [computed]; Worldwide 2027: Sunday 31 October 2027 [computed]; Worldwide 2028: Tuesday 31 October 2028 [computed]. History and significance: Halloween falls on the eve of All Saints' Day and draws on the Celtic festival of Samhain, when the boundary between the living and the dead was believed to thin. Irish and Scottish immigrants brought its customs to North America, where trick or treating and jack o' lanterns became popular. It is now celebrated widely with costumes and parties. Key rituals and foods: Costumes, trick or treating, carved pumpkins; foods include candy, toffee apples and pumpkin dishes. Date basis: official = matches a government gazetted holiday list; computed = calculated from the calendar system (tithi astronomy with skyfield and JPL DE421, Hijri Umm al-Qura, Chinese, Korean and Hebrew calendar libraries, or the fixed rule); expected = Umm al-Qura projection pending moon sighting. Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata (CC BY-SA, CC0) and government holiday lists, summarised in our own words.