I love Halloween. I always have and I probably always will. Maybe it’s something about the residual joy I feel when I think about all of my favorite childhood costumes and the overflowing bags of candy that would last me for weeks. Or maybe it’s my memories of college Halloween parties, which mainly consisted of looking ridiculous and drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Or perhaps it’s just that I really like any excuse to wear a costume and celebrate at the same time. At any rate, when I was living in Paris and the holiday was approaching, I found myself saddened that the French just didn’t seem to take Halloween as seriously as the Americans. There were no fake spiderwebs decorating apartment stoops, no skeletons hanging on doors or jack-o-lanterns glowing in windows. There weren’t even stores selling pre-packaged costumes or any talk of the spooky holiday.
To be fair, with the letter “H” reading silent in French, most French people can’t even pronounce Halloween, nevermind know how to celebrate it. The holiday is also traditionally an American one, but still. I thought we lived in an age of globalization? Can’t I carve a pumpkin and dress up?
Keep in mind, however, that the celebration of Halloween in France remains fairly controversial. Always resistant to being Americanized and often fiercely clinging to things traditionally French, many French people don’t understand why Halloween is celebrated and see it as another imposition of American culture on France. If you are looking to blend in on Halloween in France, dressing up in a costume is definitely not the way to go.
While the concept of an American style Halloween is relatively new to France, if you are an American in France during Halloween, there are a handful of celebrations to be found, especially in bigger cities like Paris and Nice, where you can get in a costume and celebrate with ex-pats and French alike. Plus, because November 1 is a national holiday in France (All Saint’s Day or La Toussaint), you’ll never be expected to work or go to school the day after your Halloween festivities may have had you out late into the night. I always wished the day after Halloween had been a holiday growing up. In France, it is.
Halloween costumes in France tend to be more traditionally “scary” costumes. When I was out the night of October 31, the only people I saw dressed up where wearing mummy, ghost, vampire, witch and goblin type ensembles rather than cutesy, American style superhero, princess or movie character costumes. I certainly did not see many people dressed up in any style, however. In fact, the few people on the metro in costumes definitely got some strange and confused looks. But, if you go to the right places, you will definitely find others costumed and Halloween ready looking for a good time.
Halloween Celebrations in France
Disneyland Paris—If you are looking for an over the top, commercialized and kid-friendly affair, Disneyland Paris of course celebrates Halloween by decorating “Main Street” as “Spook Street” and entertaining guests with typical Halloween themed events. It’s clichéd, expensive, and in my opinion anyone who goes to France to visit Disneyland, should re-evaluate their travel priorities. But, if you are dying to find a kid-friendly Halloween celebration in France, this is probably a safe bet.
Paris—The American Dream Diner in Paris has been celebrating Halloween since 1982. While I would usually suggest steering clear of any “American” style bar or restaurant while in France (they usually just have bad American style food and drinks), if you are looking for others as interested in celebrating the holiday as you, than this is a great place to go.
Limoges—The city in France that has most embraced Halloween is Limoges, where every year since 1996, the town has put on a Halloween parade on October 31. About 30,000 people show up for a parade of ghosts, goblins and ghouls carrying candlelit pumpkins. There are also lots of people who dress up in costume and tour the local bars, cafes and restaurants, many of which hold special Halloween parties. If you are looking for a real Halloween celebration in France, heading to Limoges is definitely the way to go.
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