“The celebration […] took the form of a dinner given by the Scottish Company of the Hongkong Volunteer Defence Corps at Volunteer Headquarters. It was a typically Scottish gathering.

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“There were the kilts and the pipes, the Haggis and the Barley Brae and, of course, some of the old and popular Scottish songs, with their rollicking choruses.”

The roots of the celebration stretch back centuries before those rollicking choruses, to Allhallowtide, the period of the Christian liturgical year dedicated to remembering saints (“hallows”) and other faithful dead.

Now, it’s a chance to don cheap costumes – of witches, skeletons and Squid Game characters (if that’s not too 2021!) – from a Pottinger Street market stall, watch your children pump themselves full of sugar and generally make merry (or should that be, make misery).

Of course, it would be remiss of nightclubs such as Vibes, at The Mira hotel – which is “summoning all blood-thirsty vampires in town to unleash their dark side” in the company of DJs and make-up artists – and organisations such as the Lan Kwai Fong Association – which in 2016 launched its annual Halloween Monster Mash promotion of the nightlife district, this year with added “Cirque du Freak” weirdness – to treat Halloween as anything other than the great marketing opportunity it is. And no doubt those events will be a lot of fun.

But quite what the Hong Kong Tourism Board is up to is a bit harder to fathom.

The HKTB’s Hallo (instead of “Hello”, geddit?) Hong Kong Halloween promotion encourages visitors to “Immerse yourself in the electrifying spirit of Halloween in Hong Kong this October” and “Discover a world of ‘spooktacular’ celebrations that will leave you enchanted.”

Judging by the dedicated Hallo Hong Kong webpage, this enchantment is being delivered through the medium of gaudy stickers and dazzling billboards aimed at social-media-savvy visitors.

“Even if you aren’t a fan of festivities that are downright scary, the colourful displays and decorations around the city will keep your Instagram game strong,” we’re told.

“This October, meet our adorable Halloween characters at different Hong Kong attractions and locations; with the right mix of sweet and spooky, they will surely entice you into taking all those envy-inducing shots.”

Depictions of grinning jack-o’-lanterns, spiders and other “cute Halloween characters” are to be found at 10 MTR stations, on the side of buses, on Star Ferry vessels – even in the arrivals hall at the airport.

Park Lane Shopper’s Boulevard, the Avenue of Stars, Harbour City, Lee Tung Avenue and the Mid-Levels Escalator have been targeted, some highly visible posters bearing the slogan, “Let’s trick or treat” (what does that even mean to someone who is not a child?).

But what is the point of Hallo Hong Kong?

It seems unlikely many tourists would come to the city specifically for Halloween – especially not in mid-October. And while there’s perhaps an argument to be made that some visitors appreciate the place being brightened up with Day-Glo decals and posters of “cute characters”, why not make those reflective of Hong Kong’s culture and history – and put them up for longer than two weeks – rather than “celebrate” an ancient European ritual that honours the dead.

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We know, we know; Halloween has evolved – and perhaps the HKTB would be getting it in the neck from other quarters if it didn’t take this opportunity to sell, sell, sell the city.

But for this columnist, the fact that anyone believes such tackiness enhances Hong Kong’s reputation as a tourist hotspot sends shivers down our spine.

“I know it’s unrealistic to expect Itaewon to not celebrate Halloween this year but, out of respect for the victims and everyone involved, I think the businesses should do something to acknowledge it too,” an anonymous survivor of the tragedy told The Korea Times.

“Many people will choose not to go to Itaewon this year, but for those that do, I expect the atmosphere to be incredibly different, and rightly so.”

Koreans have been joining in the fun of Halloween in recent years, but the festivities are still seen as primarily a foreign affair in the country, and the newspaper quotes Rob Ouwehand, who runs the blog Roboseyo, as saying, “I am wincing already in anticipation of a few oblivious foreigners showing up in Hongdae or Itaewon ready for a sloppy drunk Halloween, and the viral attention it’s likely to receive.

“The high turnover of many foreigners in Korea means a lot of people here this October might not have been in Korea a year ago, which increases the chance they might not put two and two together and clue in that it’s not the time or place.”

Shibuya City, in the Japanese capital, is not the place, either, as the mayor is attempting to shut down Halloween festivities altogether.

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“In light of past occurrences of overcrowding, property damage, altercations and littering in the areas around Shibuya Station, during and around Halloween celebrations, Tokyo’s Shibuya City is asking domestic and international tourists not to celebrate Halloween around Shibuya Station,” reads a press release from the mayor’s office.

“During this time, drinking in the street near Shibuya Station will be prohibited by local ordinance and traffic restrictions will be in place.”

It’s not clear whether Squid Game costumes will be tolerated.

Cleared for landing

Au revoir Siem Reap International Airport; ni hao Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport.

Cambodian ministers watched on as the first commercial flights touched down at Siem Reap’s new airport on October 16.

The Chinese-funded US$1.1 billion hub is a replacement for an airport built under French supervision in 1932 that was struggling to cope with increasing numbers of visitors flying in to tour Angkor Wat and the other attractions in northwestern Cambodia.

With a 3,600-metre-long runway and situated about 50km (30 miles) from Siem Reap town (40km from the Angkor Archaeological Park), the new airport has been designed to handle an annual 7 million passengers by next year and 12 million annually from 2040.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and a top Chinese leader are expected to officially open the airport in November.