Do the French Celebrate Halloween? 🎃

If you’re picturing French streets full of carved pumpkins and houses covered in fake spider webs at the end of October, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Halloween in France is a much quieter affair than in the US, and if you ask most French people, it’s not really “our” holiday. 🎃

But that doesn’t mean nothing happens in France at this time of year. Quite the opposite, it’s a period with its own traditions, just a lot less spooky.

A holiday that arrived (very) late

Halloween only really became popular in France in the late 90s. In 1997, France Télécom launched a Halloween campaign called “Olaween” to promote its mobile phone service, even covering the Trocadéro in Paris with around 8,000 pumpkins! For a few years, it looked like Halloween was here to stay.

Then it slowly faded. Many French people saw it as a commercial holiday imported from America, with no real meaning for us. It’s still around, but in a much smaller way.

Today, Halloween is mostly for kids. Some children dress up (se déguiser) as witches (une sorcière), ghosts (un fantôme) or vampires and go from door to door in their building or neighbourhood shouting “Des bonbons ou un sort !” (Trick or treat!). Some schools and towns organise a little party, and adults might go to a themed soirée with friends.

But you won’t see many decorated houses. A pumpkin (une citrouille) on the doorstep at most, and that’s it. If you walk around a French city on the 31st, you might not even notice it’s Halloween.

November 1st: A very French tradition

The day that really matters in France is the next one. November 1st is La Toussaint (All Saints’ Day), and it’s a public holiday (un jour férié). It’s a Catholic holiday, so France is far from the only country to celebrate it.

Many countries have their own way of remembering the dead. In France, the official day is actually November 2nd, but since the 1st is a day off, that’s when many families go to the cemetery (le cimetière) to clean and decorate the graves (les tombes) of their loved ones. It’s calm and very family oriented, and a lot of people drive back to their hometown for it, so expect traffic!

Chrysanthemums and autumn holidays

If you go to a French cemetery around November 1st, you’ll see chrysanthemums everywhere. The tradition became especially popular in 1919, when people were asked to put flowers on soldiers’ graves for the first anniversary of the armistice. Chrysanthemums were one of the few flowers still blooming in November, so they became the flower of the dead.

Small tip: never bring chrysanthemums when you’re invited to dinner in France. In other countries they’re a lovely gift, but here it would be... a bit awkward. 🙃

And there’s one more thing French kids love about this period: two weeks of school holidays, les vacances de la Toussaint, around the end of October and the beginning of November. For many families, this time of year means a little break, autumn walks and visiting the grandparents more than costumes and candy.

So if you’re ever in France at the end of October, don’t expect a big Halloween party. Halloween is mostly a bit of fun for kids, while La Toussaint remains a much older tradition, centred around family and remembering loved ones. Alors, joyeux Halloween et bonne Toussaint !

A Quick Vocabulary Recap for Learners

se déguiser: to dress up
une sorcière: a witch
un fantôme: a ghost
Des bonbons ou un sort ! : Trick or treat!
une citrouille: a pumpkin
la Toussaint: All Saints’ Day
un jour férié: a public holiday
le cimetière: the cemetery
une tombe: a grave
un chrysanthème: a chrysanthemum
les vacances de la Toussaint: the autumn school holidays