¡Feliz día de brujas!

As readers informed me to my chagrin after I answered a question about how to say "Halloween" in Spanish, there is a not-so-awkward Spanish phrase to refer to the holiday, and it's día de brujas or noche de brujas, the day or night of witches. Either those terms or "Halloween" is well understood among Spanish speakers in the U.S., although the English term may need some explanation abroad.

Halloween as celebrated in the U.S. is part of American culture, but there are variations of the season that are observed elsewhere. One of the best-known is the Day of the Dead observed in Mexico, which has different origins than Halloween despite is superficial similarities.