💀 Death, Candy, and Coffins: What the World Teaches Us About Life (and Waste)

Every October, people around the world celebrate death — but not always in the same way. For some, it’s about ghosts and candy. For others, it’s about honoring loved ones or even trying out their own funeral. It’s a strange, beautiful reminder that how we face death often reflects how we live. And at AVAY, we believe that includes how we treat the planet that keeps us alive.

So, let’s take a quick trip around the world to see how different cultures celebrate the season of death — and how we can do it responsibly.

🎃 Halloween: The Night of Trick, Treat, Candy and Trash

Halloween’s roots go back over 2,000 years to the Celtic festival Samhain, marking the end of harvest and the start of winter. The Celts believed the line between the living and the dead blurred on this night — so they lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off spirits.

Fast-forward to today, and those bonfires have turned into inflatable skeletons and LED-lit pumpkins.

Americans now spend more than $12 billion on Halloween every year. That’s a lot of costumes, candy, and electronics that often don’t see November.

Here’s the scary part: most costumes are made of polyester (plastic), most candy wrappers can’t be recycled, and broken Halloween lights often end up as e-waste.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can still enjoy the fun — just with a little more awareness:

• Reuse or swap costumes with friends.

• Make DIY decorations from old jars, cardboard, or recycled parts.

• Bring your broken lights and old electronics to AVAY’s recycling center.

  
  

Let’s make Halloween less about haunting the Earth and more about celebrating it.

⚰️ Japan’s “Try Before You Die” Festival

Now, if you thought Halloween was strange, let me introduce you to Japan’s Shukatsu Festa.

The word shukatsu  translates to “preparing for one’s end,” and every year, over 5,000 visitors attend this Tokyo event where people literally try out their own funerals.

Participants pick out their burial clothes, apply “death makeup,” and even lie in custom-made coffins to see how it feels — snapping “funeral selfies” before climbing out again. About 50 coffin companies and funeral service providers compete to show off the best caskets and send-off options.

While it might sound morbid, the idea is actually uplifting: to accept death calmly and prepare for it thoughtfully. It’s also a perfect metaphor for sustainability — because, like a good funeral, a responsible life means planning what happens after.

At AVAY, we do our own version of shukatsu for electronics — helping them go out gracefully. Instead of ending up buried (literally) in landfills, devices can be recycled, refurbished, and reborn into something useful again.

💐 Día de los Muertos: Life After Life

In Mexico, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) isn’t spooky at all — it’s vibrant, emotional, and full of meaning. Families build colorful altars (ofrendas) decorated with candles, marigolds, and photos of loved ones who have passed. They share food, music, and memories, believing the spirits return for a short visit.

This celebration goes back to the Aztecs, who viewed death as part of the natural cycle — not the end, but a continuation. Even UNESCO recognized it as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

It’s also a reminder that beauty can be sustainable. Traditional ofrendas often use biodegradable materials like flowers, paper, and candles — proof that we can honor the past without polluting the future. At AVAY, we like to think of our work the same way: giving old electronics a second life instead of letting them die in landfills.

Every refurbished laptop or recycled circuit is a little ofrenda to the planet.

🌎 Lessons from the Living and the Dead

From Mexico’s joyful remembrance to Japan’s thoughtful preparation and America’s candy-fueled fun, all these celebrations share one thing: they remind us that life is precious, temporary, and worth honoring.

So this season, when you decorate, dress up, or light up your yard:

• Choose reusable or natural materials when possible.

• Recycle your electronics instead of trashing them — even small items like cords and chargers count.

• Be mindful of wrappers and packaging — try to reduce, reuse, or repurpose them creatively.

  
  

Because how we handle our “afterlife” waste says a lot about how we live.

At AVAY, we’re here to help make sure nothing — not even your old laptop — dies before it has to.

🕯️ A Thought to End On

Every culture has its way of making peace with death. But maybe the bigger question is how we can live — and leave — without harming what comes next.

This Halloween, honor life by keeping the planet clean, the gadgets out of landfills, and the candy guilt-free (at least environmentally).

Drop off your old electronics at AVAY, where every day is a chance for renewal — not an ending.