Halloween Traditions Differ for Students with International Backgrounds

By Jenny Farley

BYU-Idaho has many students from all over the world. As we know, Halloween is this weekend and our Jenny Farley asked some of these students what they do for this haunted holiday.

As October simply gets colder, students find themselves looking forward to the spooky holiday of Halloween. For some it may be the opportunity to dress up, eat sweets, or just throw a party with their friends.But what about those who aren't from the United States? I interviewed a few students who commented on their holiday cultural shock. 

"Well, I'm from Korea and I've never really heard of Halloween until I came to this country." Said Chum Kin.

"I was skeptical, like why would people want to dress up scary?" Commented Benoni Sowah from Ghana.

"My parents are Mexicans and so growing up we didn't really celebrate Halloween. We just, we would stay home during Halloween." Stated Miriam Lopez. Benoni concluded by saying,

"On the other hand it's kinda fun, like, dressing up."

"It's more of a fun thing for kids." Argued Aaron Lopez. Chum let us in on what Korea's celebrations are like.

"They just have formal holidays. It's like Halloween for us is like fun holiday."

"I think I went trick-or-treating like twice... In my whole life." Admitted Miriam. 

But their diverse backgrounds won't stop these students from participating in Halloween activities. Said Chum about her past Halloweens, "It gave me a lot of memories." Benoni confided,

"I have a family here. And so I will be giving out sweets."

"That's what they say back home, always check your candy." Warned Aaron. Chum was a little more positive saying,

"I didn't have to buy costume because I could just wear Korean traditional dress."

This is Jenny Farley wishing you all a fun, safe Halloween... iNews. Make sure to watch iNews to get the low down on the best Halloween activities on campus.