Despite Attempts to Ban the Holiday, Minsk Residents Celebrate Halloween in Large Numbers

Reform.news Editorial Team · 1 November 2026, 17:08

https://reform.news/en/despite-attempts-to-ban-the-holiday-minsk-residents-celebrate-halloween-in-large-numbers/

Belarusian authorities strongly advised against celebrating Halloween, and it was difficult to find themed parties in the capital on October 31. Authorities have described Halloween as “a departure from Christian tradition” and “propaganda of aggression”, but this did not stop Belarusians.

Young people spontaneously embraced the holiday, actively going from apartment to apartment and taking to the streets of cities. Social media has been filled with photographs of people in costumes and masks. Most of the reactions have been positive.

It appears that there are indeed very few such lively celebrations left: “A very good holiday. You can see that people are celebrating not because they were ordered to, but out of their own motivation. There are very few holidays like that during the year — essentially New Year and Halloween,” social media users write.

Other posts have also been positive:

“An unprecedented concentration of witches, trolls, mummies and other costumed characters of all ages and nationalities was seen in central Minsk today. The biggest Halloween celebration we can remember. And you know what? We like it!”

“Children in costumes spent the entire evening going from apartment to apartment and demanding treats in exchange for reciting poems. We handed out little bags of sweets, and the children were very happy. It has been like this for six years now, and the number of children grows every year.”

“Today, parents of little Halloweeners asked for permission in our building’s chat for their children to visit someone and give them a scare. It’s wonderful! When I was little, I also went carolling with my grandfather, and I have bright memories of it! Time passes, everything changes, but children’s happiness exists in the moment!”

“For the first time in my life, I’m celebrating Halloween, and it is happening abroad, in Minsk. I have never seen such a festive atmosphere. It will become a wonderful memory for me. I really like this country and such a magical atmosphere.”

Negative posts look roughly like this:

“I don’t like it when children ring my doorbell asking for sweets. I don’t understand what Halloween has to do with the city of Minsk.”

“While everyone here is looking for somewhere to celebrate Halloween in Homiel, I’m a little surprised. It isn’t our holiday. It was borrowed from Western culture. And there is no meaningful tradition behind it here. In my view, there is no need to imitate the West and celebrate just anything. Autumn is rich in its own holidays. Let’s preserve our identity. We need to respect other cultures, but we should not turn them into a trend simply for the sake of fashion.”

Responses to these posts include:

“What is far more unsettling is a knock on the door at 7 a.m. with security officers on the doorstep… But children — let the children ring the bell. We don’t mind giving away sweets!”

“What do I think about Halloween? I think normal people dress up in costumes and go out to scare away evil spirits. And the evil spirits get scared and run around everywhere shouting: ‘Satanic holiday! Demons! Wicked pagans — keep your hands off our “traditional values”!’ Well, let them try to ban it. It is impossible to ban free thought and being open to the world and its diversity of cultural traditions. In the 1980s, when I was young, churches were banned, and families who had their children baptised were put on official lists… Now everyone has changed their tune. They have become churchgoing or prejudiced. And they look for forces of evil where there are none.”

“Let them try carolling as well!”, one user says, referring to Belarusian traditions. Incidentally, Dziady is the Belarusian equivalent of Halloween. Although the outward attributes come from Halloween, the essence of the holidays is very similar — both are connected with a period when the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead is believed to become the thinnest.

“And as for attitudes, read about the Day of Remembrance, then remember Dziady, and suddenly it becomes clear that everything is interconnected. And if you don’t overthink it, it’s simply a day when you can leave the house in a fun costume and have some fun. In general, we can never wear costumes here. We have even forgotten about Christmas carolling.”