As a wise man once said, “the Chinese like anything that is not Chinese.” And while this is a sad commentary on the state of China’s self-esteem, I do find it to be quite true. Most popular restaurant: KFC. Coolest hangout: Starbucks. Most popular TV shows: Friends and Sex in the City. The Chinese, detached for so long from everything not Chinese, have a hunger to learn about the way the rest of the world does things. Mix that with a burning desire to dress up in silly costumes and China’s the perfect place to celebrate Halloween. As the China Daily reported Monday, this year’s Halloween promises to be the most widely celebrated October 31st yet. I went out on Saturday night, two nights before All Hallows Eve and I saw Chinese people dressed as witches, ghosts, pirates, slutty pirates, and even as traditional Chinese people. The e-card craze in China has helped contribute to the excitement surrounding Halloween this year. According to the China Daily, “This year the festival is being given a modern twist, as many young Chinese send e-Halloween cards and have online parties.” Chinese celebra…wait a second. Did they say “online parties?” How on earth do you celebrate Halloween at an online party? Like a bunch of Chinese people dressed up in a costume alone sitting on their computers at home? Anyway, Chinese celebrators will be forced to decide whether to adopt the Western-style Halloween costumes (witches, farmers, skanky farm girls) or use October 31st to dress up as traditional Chinese ghosts (really long tongues). China has its own ghost festival which takes place in the summer when supposedly the gates of hell open and ghosts come and plunder the human world. But in China’s version of Halloween there ain’t no candy, there ain’t no liquor and there ain’t no girls wearing black make-up, fish-net stockings and cute little devil horns. No wonder the Chinese latched on.
•China Daily: Terrifying Trend
•Underneath The Turban: The Story of Halloween