The graduate student who planned last week’s pumpkin decorating event at the Intercultural Center had one thought in mind: experiencing an American Halloween tradition.

It turned out that she wasn’t the only one.

“I did not expect the event to be such a success,” said Noortje Hermans, a graduate student from the Netherlands. “There were no more pumpkins after fifteen minutes.” 

Located in the Brown Lupton University Union near Moncrief Hall, the Intercultural Center embraces underrepresented students’ identities, cultures and experiences.

For some students, the event was a study break from midterms. Others said they had never celebrated Halloween before, so they wanted to see what it was all about.

Yusuf Hussein, a first-year business major, decorated pumpkins with his friends for both reasons. 

“I have never celebrated Halloween before, but being at TCU you get a feel of different cultures, so I was willing to participate,” said Hussein. “Of course, I wanted a break from studying too.”

According to the World Population Review for 2021, 24 countries celebrate Halloween. Celebrations range from the ghosts, ghouls and trick-or-treating in the U.S. to Mexico’s Día de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. 

Students used their creativity to decorate their own pumpkins. Some students used symbols and designs from their home countries.

TCU has students enrolled from 76 different nations. 

The Intercultural Center will be hosting more Halloween events this month, which will be announced soon.

Halloween traditions around the world