What would the Druids think of this? Samhain Conquers Japan. Halloween Spending Tops 1 Billion Dollars.

What would the Druids think of this?  The Otherworld is opening tonight in Japan.

Halloween, the modern celebration of the Celtic new year of Samhain, has taken hold in Japan and according to multiple media reports is now experiencing explosive growth expecting to generate the equivalent of over 1 Billion dollars in related sales in 2015.

 The Japan Times reports on the surge of interest in the Celtic New year as follows: “Just last weekend, 3,000 people staged a costume parade in Tokyo’s Roppongi district that drew 98,000 spectators, while at a separate event near JR Kawasaki Station 2,500 people in costume attracted 110,000 spectators, according to organizers.  Meanwhile, local celebrations are scheduled across the nation, including in Sapporo, Osaka, Yokohama, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Okinawa.”

The website Japan-talk, which is linked below, had the following in reference to Halloween celebrations in the Tokyo district of Shibuya:  “It’s a gathering of people in Halloween costumes who hang around to see and be seen. In recent years, it's attracting close to 100,000 people.  Halloween was a non-event in Tokyo just 5 years ago. A few scattered clubs would attract a crowd and that was it. In recently years, interest is blooming. Many clubs and bars in Tokyo hold Halloween events…”  

So the Halloween adaption of our ancient Feast Day continues to conquer the globe.  Now if we could only devise a method of collecting royalties from the sale of Halloween themed goods and services we could take that money, fund universal Celtic Medium education in the Six Celtic Nations and then get back to normal.

Image Compliments of www.Japan-Talk.com

http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/shibuya-halloween

http://www.japan-talk.com/jt/new/shibuya-halloween