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Q: Why don't Chinese celebrate Hallowe'en?
Yes, there are more hallowe'en decorations being sold, but I've never had anyone trick or treat at my door. Why is that?
9 years 25 weeks ago in Culture - Other cities
Go knock on strangers doors in China? Interact with someone who is not in your immediate family? Everyone is barricaded behind access control systems in apartment blocks. Trick or treating works in open road neighborhoods with houses and front lawns. Compared to China you might as well send kids trick or treating in a prison block.
The concept of handing out stuff for free, like money to carol singers and candy to trick or treaters, is a pretty foreign one it seems. May change as the economy grows but at the moment if Halloween was truly introduced, trick or treating and all, you'd have half the population coming round dressed in sheets with their hands out. I once had to give presents at a Christmas do in a hall of about 300 people and it was like feeding time in London zoo, adults were batting at each other with their children, trying to get their hands on some free tat. In the end I had to push my way up on stage and just chuck stuff at them, more in self-defence than anythng, I was beginning to fear for my life.
Like most Western festivals, Halloween is just an excuse to sell things like decorations and have another reason to go shopping, as against there being a historical/traditional meaning to the festivals. I am continually amused at the celebration of these festivals here in a more extreme fashion than would be at home. 
Scandinavian:
I miss saxophone playing Santa. How come he is not in shopping malls all year.
Because it's a Western festival - pagan to be specific. It's catching on in the big cities though and people are starting to enjoy dressing up at themed nightlife events. Obviously the historical and cultural significance is completely lost, but if it's cool it's cool, right?!
i m almost sure halloween is only celebrated in USA and Canada(?)
at least in germany its also not really celebrated we have another weirdo holiday on the first november
seanpodge:
It's pretty popular in the UK and Ireland too. Not sure if the whole doorknocking for lollies thing is part of Holloween there though. It's become a little popular in Australia recently, mainly due to US cultural influence. Although if I was back in Melbourne on Halloween and someone knocked on my door for lollies, I'd just point west and tell them "Airport's that way, mate" before slaming the door in their face.
I'm thinking for the same reason we don't celebrate tomb sweeping day in the UK.
How could a kid survive being out at night on Chinas streets? Even if that were possible, when the kid went to a door and yelled ''Trick or treat", half of the places would offer him a trick.
Does American celebrate mooncake gambling? See! They not even heard about it.
