Jack-o’-lanterns in other cultures
- Lighting candles is a near-universal way to beckon the dead in cultures that still call them to return for one night. For instance, you can see this custom in the Mexican Día de Muertos.
- But only the Celtic culture uses imitation skulls called jack-o’-lanterns to welcome some and banish others.
- Japan has a similar tradition: The Japanese light four-sided paper lanterns on small wooden rafts and send them down rivers to guide their beloved spirits back home on a stream of light on their day of the dead, which they call Obon.
5
132 reads
CURATED FROM
IDEAS CURATED BY
The idea is part of this collection:
Learn more about artsandculture with this collection
Navigating and enjoying the thrill of horror and scare experiences
Historical knowledge of Halloween and its origins
Understanding and appreciating Halloween traditions worldwide
Related collections
Read & Learn
20x Faster
without
deepstash
with
deepstash
with
deepstash
Personalized microlearning
—
100+ Learning Journeys
—
Access to 200,000+ ideas
—
Access to the mobile app
—
Unlimited idea saving
—
—
Unlimited history
—
—
Unlimited listening to ideas
—
—
Downloading & offline access
—
—
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates