Webbies celebrate Halloween around the world

Despite not being able to go trick-or-treating with her brother Simon like in the past, Sharon decided to dress up her cat in oversized batwings, put on fun costumes with her brother, and indulge in the horror of Hocus Pocus with a ton of candy. ...

While Halloween is not as widespread in Indonesia as it is in the States, many younger people are slowing adopting this “American” tradition through dressing up in costumes and going trick-or-treating. In the past, Clifford usually celebrates Halloween with his friends at school in costume parties or other gatherings. This year, Clifford stayed home for the holiday as there were not many Hallowee...

This year, Marina made sure to follow safe social distancing requirements in her Halloween plans. “We [watched] Parasite and just dressed up at home,” Marina said. “We are still expecting trick-or-treaters, so we bought one of those extendable arms to give the kids candy without spreading any germs.” Dressed as a zombie cheerleader, she also celebrated Halloween with her friend’s two-year-...

As Japan gradually recovers from the pandemic, people were able to celebrate Halloween just like the old times. This year, Koki traveled to Tokyo, where there were ghost tours and virtual horror events, to enjoy the festivities in costume. Additionally, Koki also enjoyed some delicious Halloween themed cookies. 

Although Sam typically goes trick-or-treating and hangs out with friends during Halloween, he visited Central Park and sat on the grass with his family this year to stay safe following Covid guidelines. “I really love Almond Joys and Jolly Ranchers, especially on Halloween,” Sam said

To practice social distancing measures, Mariia spent Halloween at home with her friends and family. "For Halloween, I invited over some of my friends, and we did each other's Halloween makeup, then prepared Halloween themed dinner,” Mariia said. Afterwards, they binged horror movies with some homemade snacks. 

Although Dora is currently in the States, she recalls how Halloween usually does not involve costumes and candy in Hungary. Halloween is not typically celebrated in Hungary, but is gaining some popularity through younger generations. “Personally, I never celebrated it in the traditional sense, but I did make Jack ‘o lanterns a couple times,” Dora said.

While Halloween is not acknowledged by many in Thailand, Ben observes people walking to malls or having small gatherings in people’s houses. However, he personally does not celebrate Halloween, and instead spends time at home with family.

In the past years, Julia typically celebrated Halloween by trick-or-treating and going to Halloween events. This year, she decided to keep her festivities pandemic-friendly. With two of her close friends, she carved pumpkins, made cookies, and watched a scary movie in her home. “We had a really fun chill night just hanging out and having fun,” Julia said. 

During Halloween, people in Hanoi usually dress up and stay with a group of friends or drive down to the city center, where people host celebrations with food and music. “I know some of my friends like to find amusement parks to attend on Halloween, and I spent Halloween in a Lil Uzi costume,” Bobby said. Bobby attempted to temporarily dye his hair purple to complete the look but decided not to fin...

Laura also followed social distancing guidelines by not attending a Halloween party, so instead, she spent time with her family decorating her house and carving pumpkins. “I couldn’t wait to spend a night baking and decorating treats, passing out candy, and watching scary movies with some of my friends,” Laura said.  

This year, Jake celebrated Halloween with his friends and handed out candy to kids from a safe distance. To start off his night, he drove around his neighborhood to look at different houses decorations and instill the spooky feeling inside him. “We then opened up one of my friends' garages and played Lil Tecca as many kids with masks trick-or-treated and we tossed them little bags of candy,” J...

Although Halloween is not widely celebrated in Korea, Naomi still dressed up for the spooky holiday in her room. “I did my makeup at night and took some pictures for the freshman challenge thing, which was fun,” Naomi said. She dressed up as a dead Hogwarts student from the Harry Potter franchise and created a photo collage with filters with her partner, which she submitted to the Freshmen Octo...

In China, life has pretty much returned to normal with the pandemic under control in most cities and few new cases overall. This year, Alivia had a lot of fun celebrating Halloween with her friends in Beijing. “Halloween night was also my friend’s birthday, so a bunch of us fully decorated a hotel room and threw her a surprise pre-party,” Alivia said. After the pre-party, Alivia had a great t...

In Shanghai, Halloween is celebrated by many, and most public places employed a Halloween theme during this weekend. Karen spent the holiday with her friends, starting off with pumpkin carving. “We carved pumpkins, which was fun and reminiscent of our annual pumpkin carving with Mrs. Quick,” Karen said. Later, they went to an amusement park that had a special Halloween event. “The trip didn't go as...

The pandemic has not prevented the Lantz family from continuing their favorite Halloween tradition: carving pumpkins on the afternoon of Halloween and roasting the pumpkin seeds with plenty of salt! They also went trick-or-treating at Webb faculty homes, while practicing safety guidelines and wearing masks. “I think [the pandemic] has allowed us to bring the celebration back to the basics.... wearing ...

Pui had a casual weekend and celebrated Halloween in a socially distanced manner. “Over the weekend I caught up and hung out with a couple of my friends – online of course,” Pui said. “We played some games like Among Us.” At night, he watched scary movies and ate candy with his family. 

Considering social distancing, Dilnar celebrated her Halloween in her home, where she dressed up and had a virtual movie night with her friends. “I prepared my Halloween costume with my mom over FaceTime as she was not in the U.S.,” Dilnar said. “I dressed up as a symbol of people’s biggest fear - No Battery! It was very fun! My Frosh October challenge partner Rita will dress up as something...