Hello, I'm staff member Mmi (^^)

This weekend is Halloween 🎃

Halloween is said to have originated from the Samhain festival of the ancient Celtic people who lived across much of Europe over 2,000 years ago.
The Saphing festival was held at the end of the year to celebrate the harvest and ward off evil spirits.
(The Celtic New Year was believed to begin on November 1st, so what we call New Year's Eve in Japan falls on October 31st.)
The Celts believed that the new year was the time when the dead, demons, and evil spirits would arrive from another world, and that just as the spirits of their ancestors would return, evil spirits that harmed humans would also arrive.
So, people started dressing up in costumes to scare away evil spirits, which is how Halloween came about.

In fact, there are festivals to celebrate the dead in Africa too!
The Egúngún festival is held in Benin, a country neighbouring Nigeria.
Egungun is a custom of the Yoruba people who live in the area of Nigeria, Benin and Togo in West Africa, and in their language it means "souls of the dead."
They are covered in special costumes with embroidery and decorations from head to toe, and dance wearing large, elaborate masks made of many layers of fabric.

There are various interpretations depending on the region, such as ancestors returning to give special advice to living people, or it being held to strengthen the ties that bind families and communities.
Today it is a festival where Voodoo shamans gather.
Voodoo is a folk religion that originated in the area around Benin, Nigeria, and Togo, and is practiced in Benin, Haiti, and New Orleans in the southern United States. In Benin in particular, it is practiced by approximately 40% of the population, and was designated the country's official religion in 1989.

This year's Halloween 🎃, many people will still be spending it quietly at home due to the impact of the coronavirus.
It would be interesting to take this opportunity not only to enjoy it, but also to look into the background and related events.

If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.
▶Contact us here

▶Click here to sign up for the free "DiGiTRAD e-mail newsletter" to receive the latest information on African business every week.